


Think of me

by huashan



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: 1870s, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Historical, Awkwardness, Bittersweet, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Sexual Tension, king kyungsoo and jingju performer yixing, messy make up kisses and silk robes, peking opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-18 08:55:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 45,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17577776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huashan/pseuds/huashan
Summary: Fine features, colorful robes tinted in brilliant blue and yellow, the gems sewn on them catch the light with every small, calculated step that the actor takes. Sitting atop the head of long, black hair there’s an elaborated headpiece, dainty lines of small, sparkling pearls move with the actor’s head in gracious, trembling motions. There is so much to observe on this person’s body, the amount of detail on the clothing and accessories is blinding, Kyungsoo is sure he wouldn’t be able to catch all of them even if he were trying to do so intently.[For prompt #288 in top!soo fest round 2]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [prompt #288] thanks to the mods for being patient with me and to the prompter for leaving this prompt, i hope you'll like it! The jingju plays i tried to describe are (in order) "Farewell, my concubine", "The Peony Pavilion" and "The drunken favourite/Drunken beauty" go look them up on yt! I apologize for the historical inaccuracies, grammatical errors and the length lol.

The rhythmic cadence of footsteps scans the seconds passing, as the king moves from his private quarters to the large rooms where his guests are already awaiting him.

The winter rages out of the wooden doors, the structure of the palace creaks as it settles firmly against the harsh wind carrying snow from the north and right into the royal gardens.

From the room he’s walking across, he can already hear the loud sound of music and voices raising and lowering in neverending patterns that he recognizes as cheers and toasts. Kyungsoo has to stop and breathe in, feeling in dire need of a moment for himself, a small dose of calm and silence before being thrown in the midst of the loud celebration. He ceases his walking and with him the entire entourage comes to a halt as well, their last footsteps create one collective thud, they’re all in perfect order, all conformed to the cadence set by the king. Despite his servants’ virtuosity when it comes to following orders, Kyungsoo hears a faint murmuring coming from behind him, half muttered words questioning the king’s actions, they must be dying to enter the room animated by the biggest festivity that has livened up the palace since the Dongji festivals.

Kyungsoo doesn’t feel as eager to see what expects him in the main rooms, knowing that he will be walking in a room crowded with important guests that will only have eyes for him has his body tense with anguish, despite how many times he has already gone through it, the moments before important events never fail to force him into spirals of worry.

A strong gust of wind makes the door on his right tremble, the air filters through it, producing a small, gloomy sound. Alongside the frigid air, the white panels of the doors let the ghost of the light shining outside push through as well. The scenery hidden behind the wooden exit casts a pale glow over the dimly lit room they’re standing in, the mid morning sun reflected over the white snow piling outside is bright enough to make the white glimmer in a gelid shade of blue, even Kyungsoo’s precious, golden clothes don’t seem as colorful under such a light.

The cold light coming from the outside fights valiantly against the warm orange glow coming from Kyungsoo’s left, produced by lanterns perched on the corners of the room, just above where two of the oldest servants are kneeling, working on something that the king isn’t able to see from where he’s standing, he looks at their backs for a short while before returning his eyes to the door on his right.

Touching its handle freezes his fingertips, he pulls lightly until there is only a narrow gap open, barely enough to observe the heavy white coat drowning the bland, winter colors he’s grown used to seeing in his gardens.

“Your Majesty, I would advise you against being exposed to such unpredictable weather. This season has nothing to offer other than threats to Your Majesty’s health.” Confucian scholars have been following him wherever he goes these days, sneaking in his entourage without his invite, they resemble fleas, all of them jumping restlessly off his expensive furs, sticking their knowledge where it’s not required. Kyungsoo will have to remember not to share his interest in philosophy anymore, before he’ll find himself being followed by swarms of literates instead of useful servants.

The scholar sounds comfortable, not at all anxious to be in front of him or about having spoken on his own accord, probably feeling familiarly accustomed to being in the king’s presence. A bit too bold, too insolent for Kyungsoo’s taste “The next time you’ll speak without being consulted, you will be banished from the palace and its immediate vicinity.” Kyungsoo turns away from the sight out of the door to look through the rows of pearls cascading in front of his eyes and directly at the thin, tall scholar standing beside him, almost hoping that the man will dare to raise his eyes and meet his gaze, so that he’ll have an even more glaring reason to neutralize this fastidious infestation right from its roots. Instead, the scholar smiles, his protruding teeth, are covered by a nervous tight lipped expression as he bows and trails towards the end of the entourage, where two more Confucian scholars are standing with their heads lowered, the weightless wings on the back of their hats wiggle, following the flinching of their bodies when the king’s words travel up to them, despite the calmness in his deep voice, the promise it holds is enough to startle them. Kyungsoo can’t combat the tug on the edge of his full lips, a smirk makes its way in his firm expression, nothing amuses him more than playing around with shameless fools.

His hand doesn’t relent its hold on the door handle, he pulls it swiftly, letting more of the outside scenery appear, but what he sees is fuzzy, frozen and shaken by the whirls of wind dancing alongside the hefty snowflakes falling from the sky. The white is pure, untouched, expanding far beyond what Kyungsoo can see, the way it naturally glows almost hurts his eyes, the brightness is quite different from the shades of brown and deep red domineering the interiors of the royal palace, only observing that glacial hue is enough to feel it chill his bones.

Kyungsoo stays a few moments longer, delighted by the view and the way the cold air entering the palace attaches its brisk touch to the tip of his nose. It doesn’t take too long for him to grow restless, the pressure of what is expecting him doesn’t let him appreciate the calm moment as he would normally, his gaze shifts to the ground as he exhales a long sigh, the amber pearls and gems hanging from his headwear clink against each other, moving with his head. His hand leaves the handle as he picks back his walking, to his own steps follow many more, all keeping the same pace; Kyungsoo doesn’t look back as one of the servants lingers behind and closes the doors with a single sharp move.

The music grows exponentially as they come closer to the rooms occupied by the celebration, Kyungsoo can already see some of the musicians and their instruments, the haegeums, a gayageum and the daegeums, all coming together to accompany the dancers performing at the center of the room, between the two rows of seated people. Their bright smiling faces complement pleasantly the vivid colors of their chimas and their twirling fans, Kyungsoo’s eyes easily find themselves observing their pretty faces and their skillful movements, wondering whether he will feel willing to invite any of them in his personal rooms.

Despite the dancers’ efforts, not many of the guests seem interested in their performance, their dancing feet shuffling over the smooth wooden floor don’t seem to be enough to distract the two long rows of seated people from the stock of royal soju they’ve been offered. Some of the musicians seem to realize his presence, the music suddenly loses its tempo as he steps inside, one by one they leave their arches and instruments to lower their heads to the ground, bringing themselves to the level of Kyungsoo’s feet.

“The Heavens’ Son, the King of Kings.” the guests all turn towards him and lower their heads, the officiant on his side is the only person still talking "Long live the King of Kings!" The crowd repeats the same words and erupts in loud cheers, all raise their cups for Kyungsoo and shower him with their best wishes.

"Thank you, kind guests!" Kyungsoo responds, holding his hands to his chest "It’s a day of celebration, so please don't let me distract you from it." He extends his left arm towards the musicians and makes a small gesture inviting them to retake their accompaniment from where they left off.

"Long live our Benevolent King!" Kyungsoo smiles at the new wave of generous words and takes the first step towards the raised platform where his seat has already been readied, it’s waiting for him on his wife’s right side, who is already sitting down, her hands cradled on her lap and her body enveloped by the most gorgeous golden robes she owns, matched to him to the most minute detail. Kyungsoo climbs the three steps and quickly reaches her, their tables are lavishly covered with all of his favourite dishes. Before he gets a chance to dig in, though, Joohyun, the queen, turns on her seat, the rustling noise of her expensive robes accompanies the movement.

"Best wishes, your Majesty!" Her voice resounds clear in the room, as the guests have once again put a stop their ruckus to listen in their conversation.

"Thank you, my dear Queen." He kneels beside her and takes her hands in his making her raise her head, in turn he lowers his own but only for a moment, but it’s enough to make show out of their union and let the crowd burst in cheers and songs, followed by thunderous and joyous music. The strict rules that the etiquette dedicates to the king and queen’s displays of affection, don’t allow anything other than gazing at each other and short touches on their hands, but it’s still sufficient to let their guests believe that their marriage should be taken as an example of what devout love should be. Kyungsoo barely keeps himself from laughing remembering the amount of songs written about his and the queen’s love and how it will bring prosperity to the country.

The most important detail to a royal’s life is to hold an immaculate image to the eyes of their people, gain their respect and admiration above everything, all of them are well informed about the rumors lurking around every corner of the palace. Whatever happens when the doors of the palace close, doesn't concern them.

"Thank you, my most precious guests, for your attendance! Let's begin the feast!" Kyungsoo raises his deep voice as he turns away from his wife and returns the gazes that the officials, advisors, scholars and close and distant relatives have been posing on his figure since he has walked into the room. His attention is quickly swayed by the abundance offered by the palace cooks.

Every single dish lives up to Kyungsoo’s highest expectation, the kitchen is serving him with great success, his cooks truly always live up to their fame, Kyungsoo couldn’t have asked for anything more on such a stressful day. After countless dishes, the feast hits a slower phase towards the mid afternoon, between the soups of cow head and the veal served in every recipe the kitchen could muster up, Kyungsoo and his guests’ stomachs begin to feel close to being full with an amount of food that seems like it could last them for the entire year.

Such a moment makes it hard to keep the interest high, most of the guests don’t feel like engaging in conversation as a pleasantly soft quilt of sleepiness descends over their bodies, everyone is only a few slow breaths away from falling into the kind of deep sleep that only savage gluttony can cause. The two singers in the middle of the room aren’t doing a good job at catching their audience’s attention either, their melancholic songs have a few of the guests and servants shedding a tear, but at certain times, the symphony of snoring, coming from the ones that have subdued to their lazy weariness, makes it hard to empathize with their emotional singing.

“King of Kings!” Kyungsoo is startled out of his lethargy, snapping his head towards the voice calling for him, he finds Baekhyun’s smug grin. The expression alone is enough to let him know that his cousin has once again planned something on his own accord, without informing anyone at the court, not even Kyungsoo himself “You know well that I have spent the last months away, over the northern border… In the country of our greatest allies.” His voice is commanding and firm, his talent for attracting attention is powerful enough to gather everyone’s wits and have them hang from his lips, fighting proudly against the heavily sleepy mood pervading the room.

“I have brought back a very special gift for you, your Majesty,” Kyungsoo sits a bit straighter behind his table, curious about his friend’s words “I would have preferred to be the last to offer it, because nothing you will receive after it will live up to such an outstanding present.” Baekhyun points obnoxiously at all the other guests sitting near and in front of him, Kyungsoo shakes his head at the short speech, but lets it go without intervening; after all, it’s not too hard to believe his cousin’s words, he’s the only person in the room, apart from his servants and his wife, that has seen him privately in unofficial meetings.  

“Welcome the brightest flower of Hunan, plucked directly from the Empress’ gardens!” Baekhyun’s theatrical introduction has all the guests follow the king’s path and sit up, all their lazy gazes suddenly kindled with obvious interest.

A small group of three musicians enters through the main doors with their heads lowered, the instruments in their hands are lighter and simpler than the ones sitting with the court’s musicians, but they are treated with the same enormous reverence, each of them touch the ground in front of Kyungsoo with the smallest of noises as their owners get on their knees and bow deeply at the King’s feet, they raise in one orderly move and shout wishes to honor their host, Kyungsoo raises a hand and gestures lightly to thank them. They shuffle their feet on the wooden floor and take a seat on the right side of the room. While they prepare themselves, Kyungsoo’s attention is caught by his best friend’s figure moving swiftly along the walls of the room and making his way towards him.

All the servants let him pass with no resistance, he’s one of the few that holds such privileges “Happy birthday, King of kings” he takes a seat near him and whispers in his ear, saying Kyungsoo’s title in a mocking tone, the king side eyes him with a warning look that holds no real threat “The performances I’ve seen in the theaters in Beijing… You wouldn’t believe.” he sounds excited, his fingers fidget with the fabric of his hanbok, he’s clearly uncomfortable wearing it, since he’s returned from his travels all Kyungsoo has seen him wear are western clothes, “When you’ll see this actor you’ll understand what I mean…”

“There’s also an actor?” Kyungsoo had thought the musicians would be his gift, but the mention of an actor is more than welcome, it’s been so long since he’s seen anything other than singers, fan dancers and ritual Talchum performances.

“Of course! This is the Jingju I’ve written about in my letters, the Empress dowager’s favourite entertainment!” Baekhyun interrupts his enthusiastic talking when the musicians break through the air with a sharp, short struck of drum and the vibrant sound of the gong.

The light sound of cymbals and string instruments builds up over the rythm given by the largest percussions and soon a bright, dazzling voice enters the scene through a vessel of what Kyungsoo can only describe as blessed with the finest, most exceptional beauty.

Fine features, colorful robes tinted in brilliant blue and yellow, the gems sewn on them catch the light with every small, calculated step that the actor takes. Sitting atop the head of long, black hair there’s an elaborated headpiece, dainty lines of small, sparkling pearls move with the actor’s head in gracious, trembling motions. There is so much to observe on this person’s body, the amount of detail on the clothing and accessories is blinding, Kyungsoo is sure he wouldn’t be able to catch all of them even if he were trying to do so intently.

Despite the visual generousness of the actor’s appearance, there’s only one single feature keeping a strong hold on his attention: the presence of _red_ , a brilliant shade of it

A softer, faint red around the actor’s sweet eyes, on his high cheekbones and, more importantly, strong and vibrant on his full lips. The perfect, doll-like lines of his upper lip stand out starkly and precisely against the pale hue painted across his entire face, meanwhile his more generous, lower one seems less defined, more inviting. Like roses being born from merciless snow, whose intent seems closer to seduction than the righteousness that Kyungsoo would expect from the way Baekhyun has talked about these plays in his letters.

Stories of Kings and Princesses, Emperors, Wars and Concubines. Although, all Kyungsoo can see is beauty perspiring like nectar out of this actor’s form and voice.

The actor sings a string of vowels over the music, the voice chimes beautifully in the silent room, every guest, even the rowdiest among them, have discarded the soju to observe the creature made of gold crossing the way from the room entrance to the king. The music stops abruptly on a high note from the percussions as the actor finally stands in front of Kyungsoo with his head lowered and his hands meeting in the familiar gesture he has seen his Chinese acquaintances use to greet, the light voice speaks only in the language of the Han, but, fortunately, the studies of Chinese, that have been imposed on Kyungsoo since he was a child, help him understand most of the words being spoken. He catches easily the wishes for his birthday and for a long, prosperous reign, before the actor’s head raises again and the music picks up from where it left off, accompanying the words being sung.

“It’s…” Kyungsoo starts, not turning towards Baekhyun but leaning closer to him without letting his gaze leave the hypnotic, subtle movements of the actor’s dance,

“Outstanding.” Baekhyun repeats the words from his introduction and concludes Kyungsoo’s sentence, he’s always had less reservations than him about expressing excitement “His name is Yixing, I found him in Beijing with his small troupe, I knew you would have loved his performance... And I promise you’ll be delighted by his company when you’ll meet him privately.”

“Tonight.” Kyungsoo turns to look at him, his tone demanding.

Baekhyun shakes his head and clicks his tongue, flaunting his complete disregard for the court etiquette and the way subjects should address the king “We all know how much you enjoy being _acquainted_ with artists… But Yixing isn't a court performer, he is not used to being brought to kings’ private rooms after his plays.” Baekhyun doesn't lose the chance to comment on the king's tastes and how most of his concubines used to be performers of some kind; Kyungsoo resorts to ignore him and turn back to look at the actor, his right eyebrow raised on his forehead “And you better not try anything if you want him to stay more than one day.”  he adds backhandedly.

The actor is still moving with short, shuffling steps over the floor, every movement performed follows a delightful pattern of circles and other harmonious shapes. With the way his moves and the musical accompaniment are synchronized, it feels as if the instruments were the ones breathing life directly into the performer’s body; the gentle swaying, the sharp movements and the singing is all held together by threads tied around the musicians’ skillful fingertips.

The song comes to an end quicker than Kyungsoo had expected, everything wrapping up with a building, glorious musical crescendo and a long, stable note from the only singer performing, while standing straight and extending his preciously clothed arms forward, the hands are presenting the palms, reaching for Kyungsoo.

The music stops and the room explodes in a storm of thundering praises and clapping hands. Kyungsoo himself joins them, but still keeping his behaviour within the standards of courtesy that are expected of him. His wife on his side doesn’t clap her hands, but she seems raptured, her eyes shine brightly while following the actor’s form; on the other hand, Baekhyun lives up to his fame, making his voice and his clapping the most boisterous in the room. Kyungsoo relates profoundly to both of their reactions, like most of the people in the room.

“This is Zhang Yixing, Kyungsoo…” Baekhyun leaves his spot near his friend and reaches the actor’s side, the confidence the man had been displaying during the performance has left space to a more sheepish appearance, his hands hold the blue hems of the bright yellow cape of his costume tightly as he bows to Kyungsoo’s guests, he seems to pick himself up a bit only after the only person he is familiar with reaches his side.

“Mister Zhang, your performance has left us all… Unable to speak, it was…” Kyungsoo starts, grasping for words, not knowing how to describe appropriately what he has experienced “Absolutely incredible!” he finishes and the room erupts in more cheers. Baekhyun leans on the actor, whispering in his ear a translation; he quickly seems to become embarrassed, immediately reaching for his elaborate headpiece to keep it in place while he goes through another round of bowing, he lowers his head towards every single corner times and times again, until he’s facing the king once again and dips his torso for as far as it’ll go with the amount of clothes and tinsels on his body.

“Your words are too kind, King of kings,” The actor speaks in Chinese, Kyungsoo stares at him intently doing his best not to miss anything, employing all of his rusty memories of the lessons he was made to attend “But my performance isn’t worthy of such high praises, if your Majesty will allow me to perform again I will try my best to live up to your appreciation.”

The room listens in silence, the actor delivers his lines in a nervous voice, but he never falters, not even when he stops talking and Baekhyun snorts from his right.

“You might as well give up now, I’ve been trying to compliment him for months and he’s never accepted any of it without a fight.” Only a handful of people react to Baekhyun’s words spoken in Korean, not knowing the other side of the conversation must be confusing.

Kyungsoo leaves his seat, taking careful steps to the stairs, he is tempted to go down and greet the actor, Yixing, closely, but he decides to postpone it to a later time when he will have enough time to dedicate to him; so he stops right on the edge of the first step, his hands clasp behind his back as his face takes a relaxed expression, his full lips turn into a playful smile “Well, this is the first time someone doesn’t just take my praises and accepts them in silence…” Something seems to snap in Yixing, he jolts on his feet and then falls on his knees in one smooth motion, the sound of his bones hitting the ground makes Baekhyun squeak in concern.

“I am terribly sorry, your Majesty! I did not mean to disrespect you, performing for you in your court has been the highest honour of my life and receiving your praises is-” This time the panic shakes Yixing’s voice violently, his hands scramble against the floor as he adjusts himself into a full bodied bow.

Kyungsoo can’t help but let out a small chuckle as he interrupts him “There’s no need for you to lower your head, it was just mere teasing…” Baekhyun continues laughing as well, already helping Yixing back on his feet as Kyungsoo sighs and finally decides to take the few steps that divide him from the actor “Seeing you perform has been an honour for us as well.” His hand reaches carefully for the actor’s headpiece, it has moved far down his forehead, pulling with it the wig of black hair; his long, thin fingers are holding onto it tightly, Kyungsoo joins him as well, in an effort to help, but as soon as he touches him a handful of servants appear on his side, all of them moving to help Yixing sort out his appearance “I would be delighted to hear you sing again.” he continues, letting his hands leave the stunning piece of headwear as it goes back to sit firmly atop the actor’s wig, he ignores completely the looks Baekhyun is giving him from the side. Kyungsoo moves his arms back into the warm cocoon of his furs, despite his most rational reasoning and his cousin advice, he finds himself even more intrigued, itching to see Yixing occupied with another piece and maybe also to see him shed his colorful costume and heavy mask of paint, get a glimpse of his features with nothing covering them. His eyes continue to follow Yixing’s every little expression, the small smile on his brightly red lips is enough to make Kyungsoo wish for things he should be thinking of only in the privacy of his rooms.

“And I am sure, our King would be even more glad if you were to accept an invite to stay here longer than just today.” Baekhyun affirms suddenly, Kyungsoo is shaken off his heavy glances once more, but not to deny his friend’s claim, on the contrary, he would be more than glad to welcome the actor in the palace for as long as he's willing to stay.

“Of course,” he nods, not letting the actor speak, he isn’t used to having his wishes denied and he wouldn’t want to risk Yixing’s seemingly pathological humility to hold him back from accepting, Kyungsoo won't settle for hasty responses “We can discuss it tomorrow, in front of a few cups of soju.” he adds with an easy smile, implicitly inviting the actor to ponder over his response at least until tomorrow. The actor hesitates, he glances over at Baekhyun with eyes that seem brimming with silent questions, Baekhyun encourages him with a warmer stretch of lips and a pat on his back, until the actor gives in and lowers his head with an unsure nod.

 

♢

 

Kyungsoo’s fingers fidget with the pile of papers laid in front of him, their rough patterns scratch him pleasantly.

"The rice fields to the north east are all frozen by the snow, the administrators have been asking for more resources to help the farmers, without even mentioning that the food for the animals has been scarce for most of the quarter..." This exact conversation over what needs to be done about this year’s fields has been brought up even before it became an actual issue and yet the advisors still haven’t managed to come up with a solution; there seems to be so much to say about such an usual problem, every time winter rolls around everyone acts as if not a single snowflake has ever touched this country’s ground. Kyungsoo has been attending all the meetings about it anyway, not wanting to leave the decision-making to the advisors alone, it wouldn’t be the first time one of them tries to spare a few pieces of gold for themselves and he has no intention to risk something like that happening again.

"Ah, your majesty, you've been receiving nothing but requests for more money from every province, the resources will wither in no time if we comply with everyone." Kyungsoo doesn’t raise his eyes from the numbers on his scrolls as another advisor speaks up.

"You want to risk a riot just to be prudent? If we send what they ask for in the north, their coltivations will be enough to feed you and half of the country!" The tone of the conversation starts boiling as the men’s voices become heated, Kyungsoo clears his throat once, making sure he is being heard.

Once the conversation resumes, in a much calmer fashion, Kyungsoo can refocus on the reports from the last cold season. The plans written down in them are the same being discussed in this year's meetings, the same fears are expressed in the side notes. It makes Kyungsoo wonders if they put themselves through the same arguments every year just to feel a bit more useful than they actually are.

“The plans in last year’s register might bring more clarity to the assembly, illustrious advisors.” Finally the king seizes the opportunity to speak in a short pause between the arguing developing around him “After you will all have the chance to view them, we will be able to continue the discussion… And hopefully be inspired to find a durable solution.” he prepares the scrolls and passes them to one of the six servants sitting behind him, he wordlessly leaves his spot to bring them to the elders gathered in front of the king.

“King of kings, I am sure you realize that the conditions we are facing this year are substantially different from the ones occurred during the last winter.” One of the old men speaks before Kyungsoo can excuse himself, the sleeves of the man’s dark gray robe are too long for his scrawny arms, he must have been wearing those clothes and the role they impose for longer than Kyungsoo has been alive.

“The issue seems to become more and more serious as time goes by, if we don’t take into consideration the decisions we’ve taken before we will never be able to understand where the root of the problem lies and how to eradicate it.” Kyungsoo has been brought up with the rule of never disrespecting an elder, he would never be so upfront with any of these men outside of this room, but expecting him to be a passive presence in such vital meetings doesn’t align with his beliefs nor with the ones his father expected him to abide to

“Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have affairs to attend.” he stands up eager to leave and continue with his day. As always, all the people sitting in front of him bow their heads for as far as they’ll go, those, to whom their age still allows it, get on their knees and touch their foreheads to the ground “Have a good afternoon, advisors.” his furs are posed on his shoulders and two of his servants quickly reach the doors to slide them open.

“Long live the King of Kings!” The formal greeting resounds in the large room, only followed by Kyungsoo’s steps towards the large, opened doors, as soon as he makes it outside of the room, he closes his eyes and lets a loud, frustrated breath flow out of his lips, his eyebrows crease on his forehead, the muscles on his face locked tight by the disappointment lingering from the meeting.  

His frown finds rest only after he is informed that his day will continue in his personal library, for a few hours of leisure accompanied by his eldest son; the best antidote for a day with such a underwhelming beginning.

Sehun is already with his brush in hand when the servants pull the doors to let the king inside the library. He is sitting with his teachers, some of them are the same that have taught Kyungsoo, or better, had to run after Kyungsoo through the gardens each time he escaped from their lessons.

In comparison to his child self, Sehun is the most benevolent of deities: always calm and serene, and most importantly, contrary to his father, he seems genuinely interested in the knowledge the teachers’ are trying to pass onto him, meanwhile the most profound thought Kyungsoo has ever had when he was Sehun's age involved chasing the toads living in one of the ponds around the palace. Whenever Kyungsoo hears about him misbehaving, it's always about the most minor things, mostly about him refusing to complete tasks and how his refusal usually turns out to be a fox-like ploy to be promised gifts and favours in exchange for whatever activity is being pushed onto him.

“Father!” Sehun's voice greets him as soon  as he steps inside the library, his realisation provoked by the teachers around him bowing down to their knees. Sehun sits straight and holds his brush tighter, like a true scholar, he likes to put on airs when he sees Kyungsoo, to make it look like his calligraphy exercises are important documents that require the crown prince’s supervision “The teachers have brought new scrolls today.” he shows them to him and the copy he is in the midst of completing, a clear air of pride shines through his happy expression. Kyungsoo kneels beside him, only after he has hit the floor the teachers stop bowing and start to look at them eagerly, prepared to answer anything the king will have to say about his child's education.

“Good job,” Kyungsoo lays his hand on Sehun's dark hair, “It's already almost perfect, if you continue like this you'll be the best calligrapher in the county.” Kyungsoo is aware that a big part of Sehun's will to study is fuelled by being praised, so he never denies him a compliment whenever he deserves it.

“Do I deserve a reward?” Sehun asks bluntly, it makes Kyungsoo chuckle lightheartedly.

“It depends on what it is you want…” Kyungsoo tilts his head and a bit awkwardly moves off his knees and sits down comfortably, he adjusts his dark gray clothes as he waits for Sehun to elaborate.

“I heard Chanyeol say that there's a new actor at court…” Sehun juts out his lips, like he is embarrassed of what he is asking for, Kyungsoo hums and looks at the servant that his son has mentioned, he hasn’t done anything wrong, but being under the king’s scrutiny makes him visibly nervous anyways.

The excitement with which Sehun responds to the performance Yixing has chosen to grace them with after lunch is definitely inappropriate for a prince, but his tutors’ scoldings never reach him. Baekhyun takes it upon himself to sit right beside him, indulge and instigate all of his cheering by putting just as much, if not more, energy to praise Yixing's impressive singing to his heart’s content.

Kyungsoo is definitely more composed, he claps his hands when Yixing invites them to, while he goes through the graceful steps of his dancing, twirling the long silk sleeves of his sumptuous costume and his reflective, golden fan in controlled, delicate motions. Today, his role doesn’t exude the same confidence of the one he performed the day prior, this time around, his appearance is less boisterous, the bright, saturated colours on his clothing have left space to untouched white and dusty pink, instead of a tall piece of headwear he has a simpler composition of gems and golden tassels pinned to his wig of long black hair, long enough to brush against the pavement. His act is more coy, his gaze stays on the ground and his head tilts in tiny, deliberate motions; this dreamy, young princess he is acting out today makes Kyungsoo think of the few words Yixing had spoken yesterday, the steady sound of his non-singing voice and his trembling, fidgety hands holding onto his clothes, nervous and delicate.

The king can’t wait to have the chance to sit down with the actor, see him shed his costumes for his normal clothes and finally discover how similar Yixing will be to the image he has created of him from their short conversation and the few words that Baekhyun has used to describe him, maybe instead of this princess dreaming among the buds of peonies, he will be more like the fierce concubine ready to die to follow her king, that he played during their first encounter. Kyungsoo truly can’t wait.

 

♢

 

The chance arrives that same evening, after Kyungsoo’s usual bath in water infused with chamomile and peppermint, a precaution against the numerous threats of such a hostile weather.

“Has everything been taken care of?” Kyungsoo asks, while two of his servants fasten the belt around his waist and adjust the robes over his shoulders.

“Yes, your Majesty.” they respond in unison, not letting the king’s questions distract them from their work, “The food and beverages have already been delivered to the room, the guests have arrived as well.” the eldest of the two women explains after Kyungsoo eggs her on with a questioning look.

He has disposed clear orders to his servants for the preparations of the room for the private encounter since the morning, eager to leave a good impression and making sure that the best care is being reserved to his guest. He was adamant in stressing the instructions to make it as welcoming and comfortable as it can be, as well as being furnished with rich, tasty side dishes and the best soju and mijiu from the palace’s stock.

“Good.” he says, raising his arms, to agevolate them as they help him wear his blue durumagi.

Kyungsoo wears a less formal attire for the evening, he doesn’t comply with the layers advised by his doctors, deciding to ditch the thicker, more uncomfortable fabrics for something lighter, but still enough to keep him warm, an attire more appropriate for the kind of informal meeting he is about to attend, it also allows him more freedom of movement, he wouldn’t want to be stuck in his usual formal clothing in such a small room, where any possible clumsiness will be impossible to avoid and he isn’t looking forward to being ridiculed by his cousin in front of their guest. 

As soon as his personal preparations are completed, he doesn’t stall any longer, immediately making his way to the door. At this hour there usually wouldn’t be many people roaming the palace, especially the wing where the King’s personal rooms reside, but the celebrations for his birthday are still lively tonight, and they will be continuing for the following eight days, the oldest members of the family and his advisors will cheer and toast for him to their heart’s content, not minding in the least that Kyungsoo has no plans to join them. As he walks past the rooms they’re occupying he quickens his pace, not wanting to risk anyone seeing him.

The room he is trying to reach finally comes in sight and the servants move around him, two of them speed up their pace to reach the door the king is walking towards. The room is much smaller than the one he has just left behind and the decorations are much more understated, nonetheless, the two servants slide the entrance open with the same reverence they always reserve for each of their tasks.

Kyungsoo steps into the room and the two men already sitting inside stand up, only one of them bows his head to him, though; Baekhyun just claps his hands and clears his throat

“Finally! Finally you’re here, you had us wait too long! The wait has made Yixing’s nerves even worse, he couldn’t even drink!” Baekhyun says loudly, patting Yixing’s back so hard that he forces him to take two steps forward, his head raises for a moment before falling back into a deep bow, it is still enough to let Kyungsoo have a first glance at the actor’s face, to have the chance to observe the features that he has only seen covered in a thick coat of paint until now: instead of the strong eyebrows Kyungsoo has seen painted on his face, Yixing’s natural ones are scarce and light, the skin stretched over his high cheekbones glows healthily, the shine probably heightened by the sweat that nervousness is pushing out of his pores; his lips, on the other hand, are perfectly recognizable, plump and still red, looking just as enticing to Kyungsoo as when they’re hidden under the red pigments, although tonight, the cause behind such a deep, gorgeous hue seems to be the torment inflicted on them by the anxious pull of Yixing’s teeth, who haven't stopped biting down on them since greeting the king.

Baekhyun pulls Kyungsoo inside the room, who had stopped on the threshold, too interested in gawking the new version of Yixing to realize where he had been standing, his cousin also takes the initiative to wave away the king’s entourage paying it no heed “Introductions aren’t of much use at this point, but we might as well go through them anyway…” Baekhyun puts himself between Kyungsoo and the other man, who’s still holding his eyes lowered, his arms look as stiff as logs on each side of his body, “This is Zhang Yixing, our dear guest.” Baekhyun puts his hand on Yixing’s back again to pull him even closer, openly fighting against the  actor's stubborn shyness, he looks at him expectantly, Kyungsoo almost chuckles at the confused expression Yixing uses to respond to Baekhyun’s raised eyebrows and quiet whispering about his unnecessary nervousness.

“It is an honour to meet you King of kings, your hospitality has been the most gracious I’ve ever experienced.” Yixing deepens his bowing and speaks tentatively, in a way that holds the unnatural stiffness of words that have been rehearsed to the point of exhaustion.

“The honour is mine, mister Zhang, your performance is one of the most memorable I have ever had the pleasure to attend, I am grateful that you have accepted to visit my palace and I’m looking forward to the time you’ll delight us again with your art.” Kyungsoo speaks truthfully, he smiles gently as he moves closer to the actor, he doesn’t think he can do much to help him feel more at ease, so he opts for conveying his real feelings despite foreseeing the reaction his guest will have.

Just as expected, Yixing continues to bow and shake his head in nervous denial “Such an inexperienced actor as myself is really not worth these praises,” Instead of going through the same routine he had gone through during the day of the celebration, he finally raises his head and only for a moment he lets them linger somewhere on Kyungsoo’s face, but never meeting his eyes, Kyungsoo feels like for him following the court etiquette works better as a shield for his nervousness than just being a formal courtesy. The more Yixing adverts his eyes, the more Kyungsoo’s interest grows “But I thank you, your Majesty, I am glad I was able to entertain and show you the Jingju, I hope your interest for it will continue to grow in the future.”

Gracious, polite, sincere; this is only their third meeting, but a life spent in a court where everyone could be a potential traitor has taught Kyungsoo to understand people since their first meetings. Their behaviour, their bodies and their choices have a voice of their own that only few people are able to keep under control. With Yixing’s light voice there are a hundred more speaking to Kyungsoo and they all are just as righteous and just as sweet. It’s such a rare sight for Kyungsoo’s eyes, so used to the sneaky, heavily filtered ways of the people roaming his court, it almost makes him want to test it, see how much can a honest man take of the teasing that is usually reserved to the men and women that get their chance to sit with him in the same way as Yixing but certainly not with the same attitude. 

“I knew you would have enjoyed his performance, I’m glad I could save your celebrations once again.”  Kyungsoo’s gaze is torn away from Yixing’s tense form by Baekhyun’s words and they land square on the table in the middle of the room, where there’s a bottle of mijiu already opened, which explains why Baekhyun’s tongue seems to be looser than usual “You should be thankful that I'm such a generous soul and that he owed me a favor or he would have never accepted the invite.” Baekhyun takes the initiative to sit down, he falls on his cushion almost limply, not wasting even a second to get his hand back on the white, square cup; both Kyungsoo and Yixing follow his lead, sitting opposite of each other.

“How come?” Kyungsoo is surprised to know that Yixing would have preferred not to perform in his court, when a performer is invited to the palace, it normally ends with them trying to extend their stay for as long as they can get away with. Kyungsoo isn't sure how he should feel knowing that Yixing would rather not be here at all.

“I wouldn't say that… I mean there's no way I wouldn't accept an invitation to perform for such an important person.” Yixing is scratching the back of his ear, he isn't bowing anymore, but he stubbornly keeps himself from looking at Kyungsoo for longer than a split second.

“You should have seen the face he made when I told him I wanted him to come with me…” Baekhyun laughs obnoxiously loud, while trying to imitate the look of horror he had seen Yixing make.

“I wasn't aware that performing here would be so aggravating…” Kyungsoo understands it can be nerve-wracking to perform for people of his caliber, but he is also aware of what sort of things are said about him out of the palace, he has done enough rash things to believe that it could be a bit less favourable than he'd like to think, he wouldn't be surprised if such rumours made their way to China.

“Oh, no!” Yixing's voice responds, louder than before “I didn't intend to say that, your Majesty, it is me that is not used to having such an opportunity, I hope you won’t think my nervousness is caused by your person, of course, I can't deny that your role is intimidating but… What I was worried about the most was the possibility that I wouldn't be able to deliver a good performance. It's just me alone, after all, without my troupe, I was afraid of being nothing but a bore to you and to not being able to live up to Baekhyun's praises and to repay his generousness.” the longest string of words Yixing has said since Kyungsoo has known him are pushed out completely unprompted, his usually airy voice a lot firmer now that he is explaining himself in a less public space.

Kyungsoo would have no problem repeating how much he has enjoyed his act, if that is what will bring him reassurance, but before starting with a new round of praises, his curiosity gets the best of him and asks about the last line spoken by the actor “Baekhyun must have been a great help then, if you were so preoccupied with repaying him…”

“He really was!” Yixing is suddenly much less secluded, a bit of his tenseness leaves his shoulders and even if he is still not returning Kyungsoo's gaze, at least now he is comfortable enough to look intently in his general direction “He helped our troupe with building a theatre, he is so knowledgeable about so many different things! No one expected him to be so well versed after seeing him getting drunk so easily after our performances.” Yixing's laughter is endearing, full chested and occasionally broken by light giggling, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun smile as well, their senses tickled by their guest's contagious chuckling. Kyungsoo is glad to see Yixing slowly become more comfortable, considering how informal he is when talking about Baekhyun, he has easily figured out that he is the main reason of his nervousness, no matter how much force he uses to deny it. Usually he wouldn't mind it too much, he is aware that befriending a person as cheerful as Baekhyun comes easily even if he is part of a royal family, Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has been brought up to follow a more stoic, less frivolous attitude, he was shaped to be intimidating.

“Too bad, it can't be used yet.” Baekhyun adds wistfully, clicking his tongue.

“Yes… Really a shame” Yixing’s head tilts, his mood deflating slightly “We will be able to open it soon, though.” Kyungsoo listens to the exchange interestedly, he fills his own cup and starts sipping on the sweet alcohol.

“What happened?” he asks eventually, after a short stretch of silence.

“Some of the actors haven't been able to rehearse and perform lately… Without them we can't perform most of the plays.” Yixing explains, his hand reaches for the cup in front of him, Kyungsoo takes the opened bottle and nears it towards him, Yixing lowers his head and holds up the cup with both of his hands, accepting Kyungsoo's silent offer.

“That's why I'm going to have to go back soon,” he says after taking a sip, “I have to help the other actors tend to the school, while the teacher tests who will be ready to perform.”

“What?” Baekhyun says through a fit of coughing, the suddenness of Yixing's words made him swallow the alcohol too fast, surely the back of his throat must be burning fiercely.

“When?” Kyungsoo asks going back to looking at Yixing unabashedly, not minding Baekhyun choking on a sip of the strong alcohol on his left. Knowing that he has so little time left to be delighted by Yixing's acts and to become acquainted with him fires a spark of panic inside him.

“Tomorrow.” Yixing says seriously, his demeanor is a lot more posed, less fidgety, looking absolutely irremovable, incredibly different from the cute ways that have captivated Kyungsoo in less than a day.

“Already? That’s too early… You should stay at least until the end of the ten days of celebration.” Baekhyun leans towards him, finally having regained his breath. Kyungsoo drinks up, silently weighing what chances he has to convince the actor. The things he could offer him are endless, so he starts with the offer that no one has ever had a reason to decline.

“I could repay your time with money or as many pieces of gold as you will deem appropriate… Or gems, anything you might desire.” The edge of desperation coming through his words embarrasses Kyungsoo, but he tells himself it will be worth it.

Yixing jolts on his seat, his head shakes strongly and he waves his right hand in front of himself, his gaze travelling back to the surface of the table, his entire body rejecting the proposal “I can't accept something like that, I’m here to repay a favour…” he says and had it been anyone else Kyungsoo would have let it go, after all, he's never known anyone in their right mind that would refuse rewards as rich as those, but thinking about it, it makes sense for Yixing to do something like this without a second thought.

So, Kyungsoo takes a risk and reaches forward quite dramatically, both of his hands catching Yixing's waving one in a soft grip. Yixing's head snaps upwards, his eyes meet Kyungsoo's and just for a moment the latter is breathless. He thinks it makes even more sense now for him to be refusing, Yixing already possesses such clear and bright, beautiful, dark gems, why would he ask for sapphires? The yellow lights of the lamps make them shine in countless shades, from the darkest earthy hue to rare, precious gold. He is so beautiful and Kyungsoo starts to be suspicious of the ease with which he became so enthralled by him in such a short time, it brings back to mind the stories of splendid nine tailed foxes and the stupid men who throw their self preservation away to fall for them.

“Your Majesty…” Yixing adverts his eyes searching for support from Baekhyun who is looking at the scene in shock and seemingly with no intention to intrude.

“You can ask for anything you want, if money doesn’t interest you.” Kyungsoo says confidently, nothing has never been unattainable for him and even if Yixing were to ask for the Moon, he would be glad to try to give it to him, if it meant that he would stay at the palace just for one more week.

Yixing’s attitude seems to shift from the shock to a less guarded reaction after Kyungsoo’s new proposal, the panicked expression is deviated by a touch of interest, the king observes him for a few seconds before continuing “You can think about it for as long as you like, but don’t be afraid to refuse if it doesn’t interest you.” Kyungsoo lets his light hold on Yixing's hand go and for the first time, he mentions the possibility of being refused, only because he has seen the spark lighting Yixing’s interest, sure to have finally caught the actor’s attention.


	2. Chapter 2

Kyungsoo turns in his sheets, holding his covers closer to his body, enveloping himself tightly, completely unwilling to leave the comforting warmth harboured under them to expose himself to the gelid morning air. Even from his cocoon he can't completely escape from it, he can feel its frigid fingers caress the tips of his ears from where they peek out of the heavy fabrics shielding the rest of his body.

The previous night he must have drunk more than he can remember, judging by the way the pain in his head worsens as he slowly becomes more awake. His temples pulse and his eyes burn as soon as he blinks them open and every single little noise coming from his surroundings echoes loudly inside his head. So the thuds of footsteps coming towards his room sound more like a horde of bulls charging him from outside his door, instead of the orderly walk of the servants that have the task to greet him every morning.

His doors are opened shortly after, one after the other a few of his closest servants walk in and immediately busy themselves with their work in utter silence, only one of them comes close to him with light steps, kneeling beside him to leave the wooden tray holding his breakfast on the small table that has been moved from the center of the room to the position it takes every morning. They work in perfect synchronization, all like parts of a minutely curated machine: when someone turns to retrieve something there’s already someone else handing it to them, in just a handful of minutes the preparations for Kyungsoo’s morning have been almost completed, now all it lacks is the presence of the object of their care.

It’s the delicate scent of the tea leaves that inspires in Kyungsoo the will to leave his warm haven and sit up in his bed, immediately regretting it when the servants’ voices all burst in the usual morning greetings, Kyungsoo tries to stop them with a gesture of his hand, but they all have their gazes lowered before he can do anything to save himself from the achingly loud sounds echoing in his head.

“Good morning to you too.” he says through a grimace, wincing at the sudden surge of noises they all produce to quicken their movements to not let the King wait for too long “Please, there’s no need to rush. I’d rather wait than having to listen to this ruckus.” He doesn’t like being rude to his servants, but mornings like this are hard enough to go through even without having the stomping of tens of feet echo in his head.

Kyungsoo sips on his tea and watches them continue their work in the same way they did when he had been lying in his bed, silent and efficient, none of them daring to advance any complaints.

The rest of the morning passes in a blur, Kyungsoo is thrown from one assembly to the other, doing his best to give them the attention they deserve, while fighting against the consequences of his irresponsible alcohol consumption. It’s only half through the encounter with General Kim Minseok and his spouse, that the headache starts simmering down, the harsh hands of pain that had been gripping his head like a vise finally start to relent and the muscles of his face, permanently stuck in a scrunched grimace, start relaxing as well. Not even the general’s wife’s nasal, high pitched voice seems as irritating as it did when the encounter had just started.

The king doesn’t take it upon himself to notice how the symptoms seem to have lessened the moment the general has started pouring his personally crafted soju into his cup. There was really no way to refuse anyways, considering that the encounter was requested as a way to introduce the general’s soju to Kyungsoo and maybe have him decide whether it would be suitable to become part of the king’s collection “It’s quite good, a sort of… Healing taste.” Kyungsoo says, nodding as the general and his wife thank him profusely.

The slight inebriation has him going along with everything that is being said, feeling just dazed enough to let the advisor that has followed him in the meeting conduct the rest of conversation, surely mediating to achieve a deal that will satisfy every party. Meanwhile he loses himself in the familiar, contented feeling spurring in his chest and how it brings him back to the night prior, when the same spark of drunkness had been pushing the same sense of bliss throughout his body. He remembers the talk with Yixing and Baekhyun, his offer and how firm the actor seemed to be about his decision to leave the palace as soon as possible. He wonders if the night has brought him advice, convinced him to water and let grow that single seed Kyungsoo has managed to plant in his mind or made him even more set on his previous decision. For as far as he knows, he might not even perform this afternoon, maybe he won’t see him perform ever again.

He doesn’t like the sound of that at all. 

Kyungsoo downs the content of the half empty cup his hand is toying with, the alcohol burns his throat but it’s nothing compared to the bitter feeling that the last thought has instilled in him.

Eventually, his lunch time rolls around and with it the anticipation for what Yixing's decision will be. Kyungsoo prepares himself for the possibility of a refusal by allowing the voice in his head to repeat that whatever the actor has deemed as the best choice won’t really matter to him in the end; that logically speaking, he isn’t harbouring any sort of useful expectation for him that might be let down if he decides to leave. He is an amazing performer, a pleasant drinking companion and nothing more, even if he were to stay, their relationship would certainly not evolve into anything deeper that what they already have, not that he’s denying the interest he has in regards to a less superficial liaison, but the actual possibilities of it happening seem scarce. After all, his barely concealed, hopeful interest is most likely completely one-sided, if Yixing's uncomfortableness, when he's in his company, is anything to go by.

The king scoffs quietly, like a capricious child.

Kyungsoo doesn’t let the voice in his head take a breather until Joohyun clears her throat from his left, she has decided to join him for lunch today and the reason becomes apparent when she speaks up “Are we not expecting any entertainment today?” she asks calmly, her demeanor posed and controlled, opposite to the borderline desperation Kyungsoo is fuelling in his head and exploiting as a way to keep himself occupied, to chase away the disappointment.

“It seems not.” he responds briefly before stuffing his mouth with food, not really knowing what else to say,

“That’s really too bad… It’s a shame I wasn’t able to attend yesterday’s performance, I would have loved to see him perform again without the ruckus of the celebration.” Joohyun lowers her head, visibly saddened by Kyungsoo’s confirmation, “It’s so rare to see different performances here at court.” The love for theatre, dance and every other kind of performance is one of the many things that he has in common with her, they’ve been brought up to cultivate the same interests, most of their childhood has been spent together, being treated like siblings, not exactly the ideal conditions for them to develop the sort of feelings their parents had been expecting; not that it would make much difference, at the end of the day, what is truly important is to provide heirs to the kingdom; for any other need there are the companions they keep like hidden treasures in the palace’s numerous rooms.

“We’ll find something else…” Kyungsoo says, but at the moment he can’t think of any suggestions “I’ll ask Baekhyun tonight.”

The dishes on Kyungsoo’s table have almost been cleaned when the main doors to the large, mostly empty room they’re in, are slid open. The king peers curiously at the scene, a twinge of anticipation hits his stomach despite how he’s been telling himself how unfounded his hopes are.

He takes a large breath of air as Yixing walks across the room, wearing the same costume he wore the day before and followed by his musicians. He bows in front of the royals, then takes a few moments to apologize “I am terribly sorry for the delay, my other costumes were already packed in my suitcases, so I will have to perform the same piece I performed yesterday,” he bows again “Apologies, your royal Majesties.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head “I am glad you could join us, mister Zhang.” he smiles, stunned by what he is seeing.

 

♢

 

“Please let me apologize once again, your Majesty.” Yixing holds his hands on his lap and bows as Kyungsoo takes his place at the table. Tonight, instead of sitting in front of Kyungsoo with Baekhyun between them, Yixing is sitting on Kyungsoo’s right and Baekhyun on his left, all of them closer to each other and seemingly also more comfortable.

“There’s no need, your performance was still just as impressive… I feel like I could watch it one hundred times and still enjoy it.” Kyungsoo smiles when the actor lowers his head, his voice breaking as he thanks him.

“I’m really glad you stayed Yixing, but if I have to assist to this routine of bashful apologies and adoring compliments for the whole time you’ll be here, I am going to start regretting having introduced you to Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun snorts, unceremoniously putting himself between Kyungsoo’s almost physiological need to respond to every apology for Yixing’s imaginary shortcomings with a long string of praises; for as far as he is concerned, Baekhyun will have to put up with his annoyance if it means that he can see Yixing’s ears become a fiery pink and his lips part in the kind of embarrassed smiles that make Kyungsoo want to praise him until his last breath.

“Speaking of…” Baekhyun speaks up again, “I was honestly surprised to see you still here. Found a way to spill some money out of Kyungsoo's royal treasury?” he laughs, the actor scrunches his nose

“Something like that…” Yixing says, his fingers begin to tap on the table, slowly falling back into his fidgety habits “It's not money I am asking for, though, but it is something that only someone of your caliber can help me with…”

“We’re listening,” Baekhyun plasters himself on Kyungsoo's side, he circles his right arm around the king's shoulders and hits his chest with his other hand “Surely it won't be a problem for our great Majesty.” Baekhyun says his last words mockingly, using his talent for impressions to imitate the stuck up accent that the advisors use to talk about Kyungsoo's money. The king glares at him, if they were alone he would have gotten himself an elbow right in his side.

“Maybe you'll remember what I said about some of our actors yesterday night…” Yixing starts, Kyungsoo is surprised to see him calm and seemingly self-assured, not a glimpse of his nervous fidgeting in sight, he sits straight and talks clearly, in the same way he had been talking about his job the night before “The only two actors trained for the major male roles haven't been able to join us for a while…” he takes some time, his forehead creases with deep lines, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun let him have his moments of silence with no pressure.

“One of them, Weiting and his wife have just had two twins, the money he earned with us wasn't enough to sustain his family anymore, so he decided to quit.” Yixing tells the story with a small smile stretching over his lips, just the slightest touch of sadness staining it “The other one, his name is Wu Yifan… Well, his circumstances are a bit different, perhaps your Majesty might be willing to help him come back to our troupe.” Instead of continuing, Yixing looks right at Kyungsoo, his eyes meet his for a second time, but there's no trace of shock this time, he peers silently at the king, as if asking for permission to move on, Kyungsoo gives him a nod, a small gesture to prove that he is paying attention.

“He is in jail… One of your jails to be precise.” He finishes, the sentence leaves his lips in one single breath. Baekhyun goes back to his seat, putting some distance between himself and his cousin, who just sits perfectly still, stuck in the process of trying to elaborate what Yixing has just told them.

Entire minutes go by with no one saying a word, eventually, it’s the sound of Baekhyun clearing his throat that breaks the silence.

“I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked for something so unreasonable. I don’t even know the details of my friend’s detention, he is probably in a bigger mess than I can imagine.” Yixing finally bursts, the tension breaks and Kyungsoo tears his gaze away from the spot he had been staring at blankly, landing his focus back on the actor.

Yixing is standing up and letting out an endless string of words with which Kyungsoo isn’t able to keep up, his forest green changshan shimmies down his body smoothly as he gets on his feet. The panic in his convoluted speech is making everyone in the room sweat, Yixing’s nervousness forcing itself over them as well. Momentarily, Kyungsoo is distracted enough to allow himself to think about how endearing it is; but the thought is soon discarded when Baekhyun decides to stand up as well and speak up

“Wait,” He walks in front of Yixing with just a couple of steps, he moves close to him cautiously, like Kyungsoo has seen him do with the wild rabbits that used to visit the areas of the gardens further from the palace “I can speak for the both of us when I say that you've managed to surprise us.” Baekhyun's tone is light-hearted, but his smile seems a bit strained, forced by the awkwardness pervading the room.

“There's no need to run away,” Kyungsoo offers a bit of reassurance, he doesn't stand up to match the two other men in the room, on the other hand he invites them to retake their seats “You'll have to make a good case for him, you can't just expect us to decide without knowing anything about the circumstances.”

Yixing sits back down quietly, slightly closer to Kyungsoo than he had been before “I am sorry, I… I know this is not an appropriate request, but if there's anyone that might be able to do something…” he trails off, but his eyes linger on Kyungsoo.

He could have asked for rubies, gold, expensive clothing, any kind of luxury and Kyungsoo would have given it to him without a second thought. To ask of this out of so many options seems like something that no one Kyungsoo has met until now would ever do.

Yixing is like a character from a book, he has gathered in him enough virtues to be a hero from the tales Kyungsoo used to read as a kid, nothing in him seems to have been tainted by the ugly greed that the environment of the court lays on people like a curse. Although, being able to act out a life different from his own seems to be Yixing’s most valued skill, the king’s blind admiration for him begins to stumble, just one step out of the track it had been following until then.

Knowing that Yixing will continue to stay here makes Kyungsoo simultaneously excited and concerned.

 

♢

 

Baekhyun is quiet, sitting in the only spot of Kyungsoo's room illuminated by the morning sunlight and observing the silent landscape out of the window, he has been in the same position for the past minutes, the tea in his hand must have already gotten cold. Kyungsoo holds his gaze in the same direction, taking a sip of hot tea, delighted by the warmth pooling in his chest and spreading throughout, up to the tips on his fingers.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Baekhyun finally moves, he turns and poses his back against the wall, sitting comfortably to observe his cousin “I mean… To promise him anything, I don’t think it would be wise.” Hearing Baekhyun use the word wise sounds as strange as hearing a cat bark, but Kyungsoo continues drinking not giving any comment, other than nodding in agreement, “At least not before knowing what the guy has done to end up where he is now…”

Kyungsoo’s face suddenly lights up, remembering what he was intending to ask Baekhyun “Have you ever met him before, this Wu Yifan?”

“I met him a couple of times last year, all I remember is that he was taller than a human being should be and that he could drink like a fish and never get drunk.” he snorts at his own memory, Baekhyun’s impressions really aren’t of much help to understand what kind of character Yixing’s friend is “Even if I don’t remember anything from meeting Yifan, I can vouch for Yixing and his word, he doesn’t have a single bad bone in his body, there’s really no reason not to believe what he's told us.” he sounds so serious, even his eyebrows are furrowed, it’s such an unusual sight; but Baekhyun’s confidence puts Kyungsoo at ease, if he can be so sure, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

“I’ll send some of the advisors to judge the situation, we’ll be able to think about it more fairly after knowing what has happened.” Kyungsoo decides, in an effort to control his own assumptions, it’s not in his nature to expect the worst from things he doesn’t understand, but even his open mindedness has limits.

“I’ll go too! Why would you send that swarm of leeches alone, you really-” Baekhyun begins his usual tirade at the mention of the kingdom’s officials, “Honestly, though… The fact that you’re pondering this seriously about something so troublesome, when you could have just given him some jewelry… You’re too old to get yourself in new love affairs.” he starts mocking him again, in just one single breath his seriousness crumbles and he’s back to his usual antics.

They explain their decision to Yixing that same night, even just the fact that the king is considering his request makes him blind with gratitude, bowing and thanking profusely at every chance he gets. Kyungsoo is once again positely enchanted, it all makes him realize to what extent his weakness for the actor can come to, the way he effortlessly turns back on his doubts about Yixing’s character and is once again swept away by his endearing behaviour.

The next days don't bring anything new, each morning the sun rises and is chased away by the moon in the evening. Kyungsoo moves through them mindlessly, going from one appointment to the other with no particular interest, truly only looking forward to the time he will be spending with his son and also, he admits to himself with a touch of embarrassment, with Yixing.

Yixing is steadily becoming more accustomed to the place, Kyungsoo even sees him roam around the rooms, when he isn't occupied with entertaining him, usually with Baekhyun or one of the servants as company. Like he is doing now, side by side with  Kyungsoo's cousin nodding along to whatever he is explaining to him. Kyungsoo looks at them through the opened doors of the room he's in, where he is occupied listening, more or less, to one of the administrators reporting from his region, certainly not the time to be paying attention to the difference between Yixing’s stiffness when he's around him and the naturalness he exudes when he is alone with Baekhyun. Two servants close the doors and put an end to Kyungsoo's nosy gaze, but it doesn't forbid him to imagine how Yixing would react if Kyungsoo were the one to invite him for a stroll, he feels a bit nervous thinking about it, his teeth pull at the nail on his ring finger, but soon, a smile pushes through, when an image of how pretty surprise looks on Yixing's face appears in his head.

The preparations for Baekhyun's departure are advancing as well, they have found out that Yixing's friend has been captured in a small fishermen town in the south, near the coast, the sort of place where foreigners aren't seen very often, which contibutes to make the man's presence there even more suspicious.

The three of them continue to meet every evening and even if Yixing still has some clear reservations about being too familiar with the king, he is considerably less fidgety, less uncomfortable. Each day he grows a bit more curious and brave to ask him harmless questions about his life, when Kyungsoo responds with questions of his own about his work and the people he has left in China his eyes brighten with happiness and longing, sometimes the way he shines gets too distracting for Kyungsoo to follow his answers.

The same is happening now as Yixing goes though his story, he is holding up three of his slim fingers and looking at Kyungsoo, making an effort to enunciate all of his words properly so that no one will have problems understanding him

“And then there’s Luo-ge, he is the one that took the time to teach me everything about the performances and even how to play the instruments,” Baekhyun hums, says he remembers him and Kyungsoo smiles as Yixing’s dimples crease deeper while he nods and continues happily, for each person he has talked about he has only shared words filled with gratitude, nothing but positive things and playful jabs “Thanks to him I was able to perform one of own my songs a few months ago!” his smile becomes blinding at his last words, Kyungsoo perks up

“You know how to compose?” he asks, fascinated by the amount of talents his guest has been blessed with,

“I-I try,” his clear voice stumbles lightly “I’ll have to work hard for a long time before I can call myself a composer.” saying it hasn’t taken anything away from the enthusiasm with which he’s been talking, on the other hand it seems to fuel it even more.

“I hope I will be able to see you perform one of your compositions in the future,” Kyungsoo raises his hands from his lap and puts them on the table, his fingers brush minutely against Yixing’s curled ones; he glances at him through his lashes, in the same way he always does when Kyungsoo dares to show interest and to push the boundaries of their personal spaces.

“You’ll receive my invite, your Majesty.” he doesn’t pull away, for the first time he cuts the distance instead, letting Kyungsoo’s fingertips lay a gentle touch against his wrist. His eyes dart around embarrassedly when Kyungsoo smiles at him.

 

♢

 

Before Kyungsoo can realise it, it's already come the night before Baekhyun’s departure. Even if he hadn't remembered it by himself, he would have been forced by his cousin's dramatic, drunken complaining.

“You're so lucky what would you be without me, huh?” Baekhyun is holding the back of Kyungsoo's head, talking at less than an inch from his face, his breath hits his skin and pushes itself in his nostrils, the smell of alcohol mixed up with whatever he’s had for dinner. Kyungsoo doesn’t bother hiding his disgust, grimacing openly; it’s taking all of his will not to give in his most primordial instinct and ram his cousin’s face against the floor, all he does is flick his forehead in a bit of a childish retaliation, taking pity on him only because he is clearly too drunk to understand what’s happening around him. Baekhyun wails loudly as the hit strikes him and with a wave of excessive flailing he falls on his back, both of his hands clutching his forehead as if he had just been kicked in the face, Kyungsoo starts thinking that maybe that’s what he actually deserved.

“You are so funny…” Yixing’s voice joins the confusion, Kyungsoo’s neck almost cracks with how fast he turns to look at him, his attention is stolen effortlessly.

The way Yixing looks makes Kyungsoo _sigh_ out loud, his chest pushes out the air to clear enough space to fit all of the feelings kindled by the actor’s appearance. His face is blossoming in a peach-like flush, his cheeks and what his clothing leaves uncovered of his neck are of an especially dark, bright pink; his eyes are squinting, crinkled by his blissed-out chuckling and, with no doubt, the sweet plum wine they have been drinking all evening. He is unguarded, he has been less conscious of Kyungsoo’s presence lately, but the stiffness has never melted off his body in an apparent way like it did tonight, instead of his straight up sitting, he is laying on his side, holding his weight with his right elbow, his left hand is raised in front of his face, his slim fingers cover his lips, having the nerve to deprive the king of the most enchanting of Yixing’s features, at least his dimple is still perfectly visible, as cute as always.

It takes some time for Yixing to realise that Kyungsoo is looking at him, once he does, his laughing ceases and his expression becomes demure, his fingers touch lightly the corners of his lips, they are still turned upwards in a lovely, embarrassed smile.

Kyungsoo takes his chance and moves closer to him, his cheeks start hurting with how much he is smiling “Don't try to cover such a pretty sight…” he reprimands with a gentle whisper, his voice comes out heavy and low, slightly rougher than usual because of the alcohol burning his throat. His heartbeat quickens when Yixing raises his eyes, laying a quick glance on his face, his smile widens and his hand finally falls down, he begins to play with the heavy fabric of his clothes, he folds it and circles it around his long, thin fingers. Kyungsoo wants to reach out and touch his hand again, like he had managed to do during their first private encounter, wants to take Yixing by surprise, _needs_ to take a step forward before it'll be too late. He extends his arm and moves until he is kneeling only two steps away from Yixing, he sees the actor's head move, following the path Kyungsoo is following to come closer to him. There's anticipation building inside the king's chest, growing alongside the elation of being so close to someone that seems so unattainable, different from anyone Kyungsoo has ever desired to feel close to.

“You know what I deserve?” Baekhyun's voice startles Yixing, his relaxation breaks and clumsily tries to regain the posture he holds usually, Kyungsoo's hand retreats but he continues to look at him, a bit amused by his wobbly limbs trying to adjust to the shifting “I deserve to be granted a visit to the royal consorts’ rooms.” Baekhyun grins widely as he sits near Kyungsoo and pats his nape, acting like he even has to ask, as if Kyungsoo wasn't aware that Baekhyun has probably requested the concubines’ company more than he has.

His words make Yixing look at them questioningly, it takes way too long, even for the standards of their inebriated brains, to remember that he doesn’t speak a word of Korean . Baekhyun shoves Kyungsoo aside and crawls his way to Yixing, he holds his wrist and pulls him up with himself, they're both unstable on their feet and their knees start wobbling after taking one step, but somehow they manage to make their way to the door, Baekhyun circles Yixing’s right arm with his left one, as they walk he translates what he had been whining about. Kyungsoo looks at their backs getting further away, he decides to follow them when Yixing turns, directing at him a short glance over his shoulder.

It’s unusual for the king to visit the consorts’ rooms, whenever Kyungsoo asks for their company they are the ones being escorted to his rooms, the only times he stops by he’s usually had too much to drink or being swept along Baekhyun’s needs. It just happens that tonight he’s both, but also already too interested in someone to need the concubines’ services.

So, the surprise painted on the women’s faces is understandable when their doors are pried open and a more than tipsy Baekhyun stumbles inside, his presence fills the place and crushes things with the same devastation of a tidal wave. Kyungsoo can already hear their voices trembling with trills of laughter, they stop momentarily as he steps inside and all the people in the room adjust themselves in formal bows, they greet him following every rule, the king dismisses them with a gesture of his hand and in a breath they are all back to sit around Baekhyun, their night robes slipping off their shoulders with artificial smoothness as they ask him about his latest travels. Kyungsoo turns to close the door, he is a bit startled to find Yixing still standing on the threshold, red in the face and frozen stiff, he looks as if Kyungsoo could make him crumble into pieces with a poke.

“Come inside, mister Zhang.” he invites him, but the carelessness in his voice makes it sound more like an order. The actor nods and takes a few steps inside, enough to give Kyungsoo the space to close the doors and still keep himself out of the way of the rest of the people crowding the large room “No need to be this tense,” Kyungsoo poses a hand on the small of his back, the touch makes Yixing jump, he turns to look at him, his eyes unfocused and glistening, Kyungsoo’s hand travels to his waist without him noticing, he feels the fabric of the actor’s clothing bunch up between his fingers. Yixing continues to look at him, Kyungsoo sees his eyes finally find a place to dock, the king’s flattered to see him so focused on his lips, too bad he looks away when he offers him a smile, but still doesn’t push the arm holding his side off himself.

Kyungsoo guides him closer to the others, he has taken his eyes off Baekhyun for a mere minute and now he already has three heads on his lap, hands undoing the buttons of his western style shirt, but still not missing a word of his recount about the weeks he spent in Shanghai. Kyungsoo pulls Yixing to sit near him in the circle created around his cousin, moments later, Jihyun, his dearest favourite, sits on his other side, forcing her way close to him; with her all the other favourite royal consorts slowly make their ways towards him, their quick steps sound like trickling water over the hardwood floor. A couple of them move on each of Yixing’s sides, Kyungsoo looks over the scene silently, not sure about the concoction of feelings that his drunken brain is stirring.

“Good evening, King.” Jihyun greets, her lips already brushing against Kyungsoo’s ear, demanding attention “It’s been a while since we have had the honour to be in your company.” she moves closer slyly, her long nails scratching the back of his hand with subtle intent.

Kyungsoo tears his gaze off Yixing’s confused face to smile at her and slowly frees his hand from her light touches, still not in the mood to spend the night in the way she is expecting it to go, despite not having laid hands on any of them in weeks; he raises it to hold her face, his fingers brush behind her ear the stray hair falling out of her braid “I have been busy.” he pulls her closer just a bit, laying a soft peck on her cheek, she retreats after that, understanding the king’s intentions, never pushing, never daring to slip out of the good manners she’s been taught to follow. Sometimes, Kyungsoo thinks of how she used to be when she was still a fan dancer and Kyungsoo had first invited her to stay here, how he thought she wouldn’t let the court’s rules impact her ways.

“Who is your guest, your Majesty?” Jongin asks from where he is, his chin perched on Yixing’s shoulder,

“He is a Jingju performer, Baekhyun invited him to perform during the celebrations, his name is Zhang Yixing.” Yixing stays still through the whole introduction, nodding his head only when he hears his name, probably the only part he understood of what Kyungsoo had been saying.

A swarm of people attacks him after that, all of them asking questions and sneaking their hands everywhere, pulling his cheeks, caressing his short hair, touching his clothes, everyone dying of curiosity. Yixing is clearly overwhelmed, but he adapts easily to the enthusiasm flaring around him. He remembers him mentioning about being the youngest member of his troupe, he must be used to being doted on, Kyungsoo is sure no one could be able to silence the urge to drown him in attention, he certainly is guilty of that as well.

“Calm down, he can’t understand anything of what you’re saying.” Kyungsoo laughs, he moves closer to the chaos and silently pries the hands off Yixing.

“You should perform for us!” Someone says and suddenly everyone is demanding the same thing, Yixing is shaking his head and waving his hands trying to refuse; he stops when Kyungsoo smiles at him and squints his eyes,

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but…” he trails off, his hand finds its way back on Yixing’s giving him a small encouragement, he is not contrary to the consorts’ proposal, “Everyone should have a chance to see you.” He means as a performer, but not exclusively, no one should be denied the pleasure to meet Yixing both on and off the stage.

Yixing tilts his head, he stands up and extends his hand towards Soojung, asking for her fan; when he receives it, he immediately gets into position, his entire demeanor changing from the simple, sweet man Kyungsoo is growing so fond of to the coy expressions of his roles, his eyes blink slowly and his lips turn in a pretty, shy smile. Kyungsoo thinks he looks the happiest when he performs.

The performance is short, but leaves everyone enchanted, the moment Yixing sits again he is flooded by even more attention, only nice words and compliments leave the concubines’ lips.

Alcohol is brought in shortly after and the chatting dies down, turning into more private conversations as the consorts distribute themselves around the three men.

“Baekhyun!” a shrill cry of his cousin’s name has Kyungsoo turning, he’s not too surprised to see him with a hand in Sooyoung’s robe, his eyebrows shoot up his forehead, his face feigning innocence even when his lips quirk in a mean smirk. Through the loud laughter and the ruckus, Kyungsoo still manages to hear the small commotion raising from his side, he looks in its direction, but all he manages to catch is a flurry of movements and Yixing squirming around, standing up and quickly running to the door, the concubines that had been sitting with him stay behind, looking baffled.

Kyungsoo follows suit not sparing a thought, his head spins lightly as he stands up, but he powers through, trying to catch up with his escaped guest, hoping that he isn't feeling sick. He exits the room and expects to hear Yixing’s footsteps echoing in the empty hallway, but to his surprise, he finds him there, standing a few steps away from the room, in the barely illuminated area behind the door. His eyes are wide open and more alert than they've been during the entire night, his hands are struggling to push the buttons of his changshan through their loops, despite having clearly sobered up, his motions are still a bit clumsy.

“Mister Zhang.” he calls calmly, even if Yixing is already looking at him,

“I’m sorry about leaving like that, your Majesty... It was becoming all... A bit too much for me. I’ll be going back to my room for tonight.” he explains frantically and lowers his head, his hands fall on his sides a bit awkwardly, giving up on the buttons “Please, don’t take offense to it.”

“I couldn’t,” Kyungsoo says, he speaks softly, letting his voice soothe Yixing out of his tenseness “I followed to make sure you weren’t feeling ill.” the king closes the distance between them, the back of his hand brushes against Yixing’s red cheek, there is no texture on it apart from the slightest hint of stubble tickling his skin, he still carries a bit of the warmth of the room they’ve just left, even if the temperature in the hallway is considerably lower “I will take you to your room.” he asserts, not leaving any room for refusal, but Yixing tries to go against his will without a second thought,

“There is no need, your Majesty, please don’t concern yourself with me, everyone must be awaiting you inside.” he points at the doors behind them, some of the noise filters through it, the laughter is less prominent, the sounds are less boisterous and more drawn out, the activities of the people inside must have already moved past the friendly banter.

“I wasn’t planning on rejoining them, I’d rather spend more time with you.” Kyungsoo says, meaning every word, “Let me help you first.” he continues after Yixing nods, accepting his offer. The king’s hands move against Yixing’s chest, his thicker fingers grasp one of his undone buttons diligently, pushing it past its ring and securing it in place. He tries not to look at the actor’s face while he adjusts his clothes, but he can feel Yixing’s eyes staring at him, his head tilted downwards to look at his fingers work.

“A King doing such a thing…” his voice comes out in a feeble whisper, shaken by the incredulity. Kyungsoo goes through the motions with no issues, quickly working his way to the last button, sitting at the base of Yixing’s neck.

“Even Kings can help their friends.” he smiles and lets his nails brush insistently against Yixing’s throat, his Adam’s apple bobs after each one of his touches, Kyungsoo can hear him swallow around nothing. Once he is done, he ponders his next move, torn between accompanying Yixing to his room immediately or exploit the golden chance he has been given. The choice he makes speaks for itself as he starts to caress Yixing earnestly, without the need to hide behind any other action as an excuse, he lays soft strokes on the side of his neck, using them to maneuver him tenderly until he is looking at him. Kyungsoo is the one swallowing when Yixing’s gaze doesn’t falter and meets his own, he breathes out of his lips and stares back in a way he has never done before.

Kyungsoo feels hypnotised, unable to think properly about anything that isn’t Yixing’s eyes, his lips, his body, anything that is not his presence, his soft voice, his amusing laughter, his singing; he wants to grasp him whole in his hand and make him his.

“Your Majesty…” Yixing breathes out again, his voice trembles, the sound hits Kyungsoo in his guts, making his hands shake synchronized with the pattern of Yixing’s intonation, his light trembling worsens when the actor’s cold hand touches his own, it’s light and unsure, but it doesn’t relent. Kyungsoo covers the other side of Yixing’s neck with his free hand and holds him gently, still observing him raptured, at this point only a few centimeters stand between their faces and Kyungsoo continues to shorten the distance steadily. They continue to hold each other’s gazes throughout the entire process, although the moment the tips of their noses touch, Yixing’s eyelids give in and start closing, shutting down completely by the time Kyungsoo’s lips are already brushing against his.

The kiss they share is tender, unhurried, just a mere brush of lips as they try to become acquainted with each other, Kyungsoo pushes lightly after it and Yixing offers no resistance, discards any doubt and chases him when he pulls away, his eyes still closed and his skin glowing in the loveliest of ways under the moonlight shining through the holes and shapes of the shutters covering the windows. He looks unbearably handsome.

“Yixing, you are so beautiful.” Kyungsoo calls him by his name out loud for the first time and puts his forehead against his, he makes an effort to use his softest tone, just a whisper in his dark voice to convey to Yixing all the admiration and unnamed convoluted, confused emotions he has for him, show that just his presence was enough to make a king like him irretrievably enamoured. Yixing smiles in the way Kyungsoo has seen him do whenever someone compliments him, a shy stretch of lips and his teeth digging into his plump, bottom one to try to keep it at bay.

Kyungsoo tilts his head, preparing to kiss him again, his fingers stroke his neck lightly, but the touch is enough to make Yixing squirm, the sudden movement has his slow, lethargic breathing speed up, Kyungsoo smiles, a bit too pleased by the reaction. His hands leave his sensitive skin to settle on Yixing's thin waist, his palms fitting nicely against the small dip just above his hips. Kyungsoo holds him close and tilts his head upwards, to reach his lips; Yixing's gaze sits heavily on his face, he moves his head back imperceptibly, escaping easily from Kyungsoo's blind chase.

All the king sees are his plump, pink lips still open and glistening with the aftermath of their first kiss, Kyungsoo, still unable to figure himself out, tries to move forward again, fuelled by the temptation, but Yixing is pulling away once more in response, this time he lays his fingers on Kyungsoo’s lips to get the message across more clearly.

“I’ll go to my room.” he says and Kyungsoo freezes momentarily, stares at him lost, his lips still hanging open. Yixing's voice doesn’t let out any kind of spite, but he sounds firm in his decision. Kyungsoo finally closes his mouth and adjusts his posture, the actor is smiling tentatively, Kyungsoo hopes he doesn’t feel obliged to. The king moves his hands off him, touching only his wrist with the tips of his fingers, to hold his hand steady where he has posed it, as light as a feather over his lips, and kiss it softly.

“Good night.” he whispers and moves aside, confused, but not enough to simmer the elation still rushing through his bloodstream, caused by having had the chance to share a moment with Yixing in this way. He follows Yixing's walk forlornly, regretting already to see his figure move away from him.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Kyungsoo wakes up, Baekhyun has already left the palace, beginning the journey to the jail where Yixing's friend is being held. Although, his brain quickly discards those thoughts to put a more pressing matter in the forefront: namely, the image of his drunken self taking the liberty to advance the status of his and Yixing's relationship.

Kyungsoo remembers it clearly enough to be able to feel on the tip of his tongue how Yixing tasted like plum wine and soju and the heavenly softness of his lips, of his clothes under his fingers, of his skin wherever he has been able to touch.

It's also painstakingly crystalline the way he had denied him a second kiss, the memory of his perfect, polite smile feels as piercing as a dagger. As the memories from last night resurface in his head, he starts spiralling, his brain violently flooded by seas of what ifs and whys.

What is inflating his worries isn't the act of Yixing's refusal itself, but the possible reasons behind it. He hadn't expected to end the night in that way and he can only imagine how strange it must have seemed to Yixing, especially now that he has just become more willing to open up to him, he hopes his drunken senses hadn't been too foggy to recognise the signs of possible refusal.

All he can do for now is wait for this afternoon and invite him privately with the sole aim of apologizing to him.

Yixing is performing for him alone today, the absence of anyone apart from the two of them, the guards and the musicians is making Kyungsoo feel a bit nervous, drops of sweat are already trickling down his nape.

Kyungsoo sits silently and watches Yixing walk towards him, he then proceeds to bow and move close to the musicians, waiting for them to start playing.

Instead of going straight into singing, as he usually would, he starts dancing. His movements don't hold the same sharpness of the other performances, his feet stumble and his body wavers as if he were drunk, just like Kyungsoo had seen him the night before. One of the musicians leaves his place and moves near to Yixing's position, kneeling on his left as he continues to dance around with his graceful stumbling. Kyungsoo sees the musician hold up a cup, and jumps on his seat when he unexpectedly begins to sing, his voice much deeper than the one Yixing uses.

Kyungsoo is able to understand that he is offering a drink to Yixing's character, Yixing slowly makes his way towards him as he continues to sing. The beautifully inebriated concubine turns to look at Kyungsoo, smiling at him as he shakes his head coyly, using one of his long silk sleeves to covers his chin and the other to hit the musician, mimicking a refusal to his offer. After more of the push and pull between them, Yixing bends down, his face going directly towards the man's hands, Kyungsoo sees his red lips catch the cup and raise it, Yixing turns around facing his back to Kyungsoo and then bends backwards downing his imaginary drink, the musician helps him keep him steady with his arm tucked against the small of his back.

Today’s dance is the most complex he has seen him perform, after letting the cup fall back in the musician's hands, Yixing walks back to the center of the room, with a bit of difficulty he balances his body on his right foot and extends the other, he sees the tassel on the tip of his shoe drag against the floor as he lowers himself, Kyungsoo sees him tremble lightly and use his extended arms to distribute his weight, a way to balance himself as he moves down until his head is only a few centimetres away from the ground. Despite the slight uncertainty, he completes the move with an ease and smoothness that have Kyungsoo clapping his hands. He hadn’t expected him to make it seem so easy with how intricate today’s costume is: he is clearly wearing many layers, more than he has seen until now, Kyungsoo can see their colours shine brightly one by one with each of the actor’s movements, the bright blue, the purple thread embroidered with brilliant silver gems and more of that impossibly vivacious red, the same shade that is once again staining the performer’s perfect lips. Although, what has Kyungsoo the most worried during Yixing more daring moves is the high headpiece he is wearing, instead of the small, simpler structures he had used before, he is wearing a complex crown that frames his his head from one temple to the other, it is made of rows and rows climbing vertically and animated by trembling silhouettes of birds and butterflies, their shaking is hypnotic. From each side of the beautifully carved accessory there are long tassels of golden threads and pearls cascading down to Yixing’s waist, the same length reached by his wig.

The actor does sing eventually, no matter how many times he hears it Kyungsoo continues to feel his voice reach his core and make his skin raise in pleased shudders. He looks over the performance raptured once again by Yixing’s sweet voice.

It all comes to an end too soon and it leaves Kyungsoo stuck into the same tantalising admiration that always swells his chest when Yixing bows after the end of a performance, but also wondering what it would be like to see an entire play being acted in a theatre by a whole troupe instead of just an actor and a few musicians. He is sure it must be even more outstanding than what he has experienced of this art form until now. It makes him hope that Yixing's friend will have the chance to join their troupe again.

Yixing and the musicians leave their spots to come right in front of the platform holding the king almost a meter higher than the ground level, they all bow and then walk back to start packing their things to move out of the room, but Kyungsoo interrupts them and gets on his feet before Yixing can turn his back to him.

“Mister Zhang,” Kyungsoo calls out as he quickly walks down the stairs, he feels the stiff, warm clothes he is wearing adjust against his body, “I need to have a word with you,” he continues, this time lowering the volume of his voice, Yixing is right in front of him, but is looking down, not letting Kyungsoo observe his reaction. Not having a clear idea, about where he stands when it comes to Yixing, makes Kyungsoo feel a bit out of place, but he doesn't make any sort of comment in an attempt to release some of the tension; all he needs to do is apologize, so he will be doing his best to set his rash courtship aside “I would be glad to be in your company later today, during my walk outside.”

Yixing nods and a small “I would love to…” makes it past his lips before he turns and leaves, Kyungsoo stands still on his feet as he looks at his colorful figure retreat, following the same pattern of the night before, it surges a new wave of the same worrying he has been carrying with him since the morning.

The afternoon rolls around in the same slow, lazy pace with which most winter days are spent. Kyungsoo is walking alone, crossing the mostly empty rooms to get to the eastern entrance where, he was informed, Yixing has been already waiting for him. The celebrations for his birthday have been deemed closed for days already and this area of the palace has gone back to its usual quietness, most servants and other inhabitants have returned to gather in the main rooms, they offer warmth that can’t be found here anymore, both from the burnt wood and the convivial sharing of rumors and hot dishes.

Kyungsoo's rushed steps slow as he sees the silhouette of a woman kneeling by a door, she is covered in thick layers of warm fabrics, looking and talking amiably with someone standing right outside. The old woman has served in the palace since before Kyungsoo was born, she is also the one that has been taking care of his most eminent guests, among them there are the likes of foreign princes and officials, and now Yixing has been trusted to her expert hands.

His presence is noticed soon with the way the thuds of his heavy shoes echo in the large rooms, she looks at him with a kind smile and lowers her head to the ground, greeting him without using her words “Thank you, Jungsook, you can leave now.” Kyungsoo helps her stand up, something unusual for a king, but even the Heaven’s son is allowed to grow attached to the people that have raised him “You shouldn’t be sitting by this cold weather.”

“Oh, no, your majesty, no need to be concerned. The cold helps keep people young.” She laughs, Yixing walks in from the door, his hands reach for the old woman too, helping her keep her outer, heavy clothing from slipping off her bony shoulders.

“I’ve told her she didn’t have to wait with me, but she responded with the same thing.” Yixing grumbles under his breath, taking a step too far to his left and bumping into Kyungsoo, he immediately steps back and apologizes profusely, making both Kyungsoo and Jungsook laugh lightly.

Kyungsoo waits for the servant to leave to address Yixing directly, for once, eager to share what has been torturing him.

“Mister Zhang,” The king faces him, Yixing’s eyes dart around, he seems a bit startled about being addressed so suddenly, “I think I should offer you, my deepest apologizes.” Kyungsoo lowers his head with no issue, no care for the blood that runs through his veins.

“Goodness! King,”Yixing gaps, “This is not appropriate for you,” he fumbles, clearly unable to think his reaction through, and reaches for Kyungsoo’s arm, pulling him up with his cold, nervous hands “Oh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” he gasps once more, letting Kyungsoo’s arm go immediately, as if the night prior they weren't moments away from sharing touches infinitely more daring. Maybe that's the reason behind the sudden surge of embarrassment.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen, finding it difficult to keep up with Yixing’s reactions, he stares at him barely keeping himself from laughing at his scrambling, but the scared expression etched on his companion’s features helps him suppress the urge in favor of offering him some reassurance “You don’t have to apologize for touching me, mister Zhang. The only inappropriate thing happening here is you apologizing to me, when I was the one to offend you.” Kyungsoo isn’t afraid to look directly at Yixing’s face as the fear falls from his features leaving space to a more puzzled expression.

Yixing dips his head forward again, probably feeling more comfortable about keeping silent than contradicting Kyungsoo,”...Shall we go?” he says eventually, using his head to indicate the opened doors on his left.

“Of course.” Kyungsoo responds, sounding unsure and glancing at the other confused, not knowing what to make of Yixing’s lukewarm reaction to his last words. He walks to the door, he stops momentarily to change his shoes into a more sturdy pair that has been prepared for him in advance. He invites Yixing to walk out first with a court gesture, so that he can close the panels of wood behind the both them.

The walk through the second row of doors and then through the gates is spent in silence, kept tense by the fidgeting way with which his guest has been playing with the long strings hanging from the furry neckline of his dark cape. Kyungsoo doesn't take action to pick up the conversation, hoping Yixing will do it once he has grown less restless.

He clears his throat shortly after, as Kyungsoo starts walking a bit faster, putting a couple of steps of distance between himself and the man walking behind him

“W-What offence, your Majesty?” The question stops the king’s steps and makes him turn on his track, looking at Yixing’s face burrowing in the fur around his neck and pulling his black cape tighter against himself, covering more of the pretty, baby blue changshan he is wearing.

“Well,” Kyungsoo starts, taking a moment to measure his words “What we have… What I have done after following you out of the consorts’ room.” He has the urge to clear his throat and turn back around, being subtle has never been a necessity for him, but while facing Yixing, he doesn’t feel comfortable telling things how they are, probably feeling affected by how red Yixing’s ears are and how he can feel his own starting to burn even as they stand unmoving in the midst of a gelid sea of snow.

He hears Yixing hum from where he is, standing a few steps behind his back, Kyungsoo doesn't turn to look at him, opting to set his eyes on the few green leaves that peek out of the white snow.

“If… If possible I would like to not think of it as an offence, King.” Yixing catches up with Kyungsoo's pace, he stops when his front faces the king's profile; Kyungsoo turns to look at him in return and sees Yixing's gaze quickly move from his face to somewhere on his chest. “Of course, it did feel quite unbelievable, but certainly not… As an offence.” he laughs at his stumbling words, Kyungsoo sees his hands scratch each other, play around in a way that is making even the king’s nervousness rise

“I was hoping my actions hadn't disappointed you.” Kyungsoo says and he lowers his head, he wants to say so much to him and waiting for a good moment to do it is starting to become challenging.

“I am more-” Yixing starts and halts himself abruptly, his teeth come out to bite down on his lips, as if to reprimand himself. 

Kyungsoo faces Yixing completely at that, he wants to reach out and soothe the nervous twitchy movements of his hands pulling at the fabrics he is wearing and the mean way his teeth dig in the lips Kyungsoo adores so dearly. “What, mister Zhang? Continue, please.” Yixing steps forward, taking the king by surprise. His hands reach out, his long fingers risking the exposure to the frigid air to hold the hem of Kyungsoo’s furry coat.

“...I am more disappointed that you have apologized for it.” he continues, his light voice is kept at a volume just above a whisper, Kyungsoo can barely hear it with the way his heartbeat is thundering in his ears.

Kyungsoo’s right hand leaves the warmth of the pocket it had been occupying to grasp Yixing’s hand, he holds it tightly, as a way to anchor himself into the realization that what he is experiencing is actually happening, isn’t only one of the thoughts he left unspoken at the back of his mind.

“Why did you leave like that, then?” Kyungsoo asks gently, his sturdier fingers start stroking Yixing’s, trying to create some warmth through the friction, exploiting the spark going off in his chest.

“It’s not everyday that a man like you… Especially one I am interested in, is so forward with me.” Kyungsoo moves closer to him at the word _interested_ and Yixing starts looking to the side, the king can’t help but stare at his eyes reflect the cold light bouncing off the white coat at their feet, their shine is mesmerizing “But even so, I wasn't sure wether you were thinking of me as one... Of your concubines. I might have acted as one for more times than I can remember, but I have no intention to cross the line between the role and real life.” He takes a short pause to breathe in, “I apologize in advance if my words aren’t appropriate, but... I have noticed the way you have been looking at me and I am deeply honoured by it, but I hope you don’t expect me to become one of your properties, your Majesty.” Kyungsoo has rarely heard Yixing sound so confident, he doesn’t know what it makes of him that the actor feels compelled to be so clear about this matter, maybe it’s not only Kyungsoo’s title that makes him so nervous. He thinks about asking, but then Yixing turns his head to look at him again, the short silence after his words must have started to affect his self-assurance.

“I will be keeping it in mind. Thank you for telling me, Yixing.” Kyungsoo says, a smile blossoms on the actor's lips as he calls him by his first name.

Kyungsoo smiles too, Yixing’s straightforwardness is amusing, liberating like a breath of fresh air. He tries to pull him closer and to use his free hand to hold his face, maybe dare to caress his nape and lay a chaste kiss on his lips. Yixing slips out of his hold in the blink of an eye, before he can go through with his plans, unable to keep the laughter off his lips as he starts walking again, retaking the path that they had been walking on before stopping. Kyungsoo bites back a smile as Yixing looks back at him with a short glance, inviting him to follow, he's insufferably charming and Kyungsoo is sure he must be well aware of it.

After that first time, taking walks in the gardens starts to become a tradition, every other day they meet in front of the same door and walk together through short distances, just for as far as the bone-chilling cold will allow them.

“When Baekhyun started spending time with us in Changsha, he liked to talk more about you than about himself” Yixing speaks up as they walk around one of the frozen ponds “I've heard a lot of stories about you.” Yixing’s shell seems to have completely melted off since Baekhyun hasn’t been here to shield him from Kyungsoo’s presence, there’s no more fidgeting accompanying his words and he rarely stumbles on his words like he used to. It seems that bringing him outside of the palace is an especially effective way to put him in a chatty mood.

“That doesn't sound good.” Kyungsoo chuckles, a bit embarrassed to know that his cousin goes around talking about him to strangers.

“Oh no, he only told us good things… Well,” the last word makes the king's right eyebrow raise, Baekhyun is too unpredictable, there's no way he'll be able to foresee what Yixing is about to say “Maybe not only good… He told many times the story about you falling in a pond three times in a day…” Yixing tilts his head, as if to apologize for saying it out loud

Kyungsoo hums, “I'm sure everyone he knows has heard that story at least once.” He says resigned.

“I don't think that's too bad, you were a kid!” Yixing interjects, “I think it's a cute story,” he adds, his left arm brushes against Kyungsoo's right side, trying to bring comfort without pulling his hands out of his cape.

“That is really nice of you, but I was already seventeen, just a few months before marrying.” He adds still a bit embarrassed as he thinks back at that day, at Baekhyun and his older brother Jongdae tricking him into walking near the ponds and pushing him in with the same dumb trick, maybe Kyungsoo does deserve some of the slander.

“It became a bit funnier when I discovered that the cousin he was talking about is the King of kings…” Yixing's eyes are mischievous, crinkling so cutely while he laughs at him “At least his stories aren't as scary as the rumors I have heard from other people…”

“Scary?” Kyungsoo asks,

“One time I heard a Korean merchant say that you made three of your advisors strip naked and hang them from a tree…” he says, as if he were telling something he shouldn't be, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips curling around his low voice.

“I didn't hang them on a tree, but I did leave them out in the snow for five days before exiling them.” Yixing stops and stares at him, Kyungsoo looks back and shrugs his shoulders “They had been stealing from the treasury, I had to set the example.” he continues walking without looking back at the actor.

Yixing reaches his side seconds later still keeping silent. Kyungsoo sees him look at his feet and scrunch his nose.

“Scary?” He repeats his previous question, curious about the answer Yixing will share this time, all of it is part of him after all, the kid being tricked over and over again and the ruler of a country are both sides of him in the same way.

Yixing shakes his head, “It's just that, I've been meeting you privately so often that sometimes it's hard to believe I'm really spending time with a man with that kind of heavy responsibilities.”

Kyungsoo sort of likes hearing that; lately, when he spends time with Yixing, he forgets he is not talking with someone of his same caste too. Since Yixing has started feeling at ease around him he's been able to feel more relaxed as well, he is so warm to him, his presence is so easy to become accustomed to, it's soothing.

Slowly, the first attraction that has pushed Kyungsoo to invite Yixing to stay at the palace is shifting into something more genuine, less based on his beauty and talent alone. Kyungsoo finds himself thinking of him just before he falls asleep, about the way his eyes light up when talks about his work, about the other actors in his troupe, the way he has steadily warmed up to him, to the point of being able to be completely upfront, never feeling the need to hide his thoughts from him.

He is such a lovable, _sweet_ person, he used to see him as some sort of mythological creature, perfect as a hero or as easily decipherable as one of his roles, but he is a lot more and never tries to present himself with the sole aim of making himself desirable or to put in work to attract Kyungsoo's attention, in the way that many people before him have done. He is interesting because he is himself, even when he feels out of place or on the brim of saying something that the court's rules usually don't allow, he doesn't back down, even if he ends up apologizing for it without Kyungsoo asking him to. He wasn't brought up and groomed to live in a court.

Kyungsoo would love to keep him with him forever, but he knows Yixing would never agree and that alone makes Kyungsoo adore him even more.

 

♢

 

“ _Miss, this is a goldfish pond!_ ” Kyungsoo is startled by Yixing's voice changing suddenly into the familiar high pitch of his acting, he points at the pond nearby and walks behind Kyungsoo with a smile that perspires mischievousness “ _Step carefully on the grass, so the mud won’t stain your new brocade socks!_ ”

Yixing takes Kyungsoo's arms and pulls him towards the ground. His antics make Kyungsoo laugh heartily, there's still only snow at their feet, but Yixing guides him around as if he really were making him avoid stepping on mud.

Kyungsoo's suspicions become tangible truth when Yixing forces him towards the pond, pushing him with all of his strength, while his voice jumps with giggles that Kyungsoo really shouldn't find adorable at a time like this.

“ _If we didn’t come here,_ ” Yixing continues, his voice breaks out of character repeatedly, unable to keep his laughter at bay as he continues to push Kyungsoo dangerously close to the pond “ _How could we know that springtime is like this!_ ” Kyungsoo starts seriously fearing an early February dip, so he tries to oppose resistance, Yixing doesn't relent, though, leaving the hold on his arms to hug his waist tightly and still move forward with malicious intent.

Unfortunately for him, the new position allows more freedom of movement to the king, Kyungsoo can easily turn and grasp Yixing’s clothes, with just a bit of pulling he manages to force him to move on his right, circling Kyungsoo’s body while he keeps hugging his waist. His laughter becomes louder as Kyungsoo starts pulling on his arms, trying to pry him off.

“No, no! I surrender!” Yixing screams, his voice cracks to let his throaty laughing take over his speaking “Have mercy, King!”

Kyungsoo doesn’t bother responding, it’s a bit late to talk about mercy now. Yixing’s resistance is valiant, but not enough to fight off the king’s sturdy hold, all it takes is some struggling and Kyungsoo has gotten the actor off himself, his hands hold onto his wrists and guide him on the same path that Yixing had been trying to get him to follow.

Yixing looks behind himself as he is obliged to walk backwards, Kyungsoo makes sure not to get him too close to the pond, not wanting to actually push Yixing into water that used to be solid ice only a couple of days before. So, Kyungsoo doesn’t feel too responsible when the actor puts one of his feet on a patch of moss, and loses his balance, his shoe slipping over the plant drenched by the melting snow.

There’s a cry and then a loud splash, in a flurry of movements Yixing ends up on his back and inside the pond, Kyungsoo is still holding one of his wrists and because of the actor’s fall he is pulled towards the pond asa well, finding himself with one of his feet inside the water. There are a few moments of silence in which the two of them try get air inside their lungs, both left winded by the fight and its unexpected conclusion.

Yixing starts laughing again and Kyungsoo follows, his voice jumps in an awkward scream when Yixing seizes the chance and pulls him along with him. The way Kyungsoo lands on him makes the two of them breathless once more, their noses brush against each other and they are both aware that if they weren’t lying in gelid water their faces would be burning.

It probably takes more than necessary for them to gather themselves and get out of there. Kyungsoo can’t feel his fingers anymore, frozen solid by the water, but he manages to be the first to pick himself up and offer his hand to help Yixing get back on his feet as well; the actor's slim fingers have gotten so stiff that he isn't able to let go of the rocks his hand has grasped at the bottom of the pond.

“Here.” he extends his arm and waits patiently for Yixing to get the blood flowing down his arms again and take his hand, when he looks up at him, his cheeks are stained with mud, but his smile is blinding; Kyungsoo keeps thinking that he has never known anyone this stunning. 

“Thank… You.” his words are interrupted by a short grunt as Kyungsoo pulls him up, “We’re drenched…” his lower lip juts out as he pinches his black cape, trying not to make it stick to his body, his frown deepens when he lets the fabric go and it adheres back to his clothes. Kyungsoo continues to smile, unable to stop at the sight of Yixing’s cute expression. His free hand cups one of the actor’s cheeks, his thumb strokes the skin gently, trying to get some of the mud off it, Yixing’s eyes squint a little as he burrows into the touch, securing himself in the king’s hold.

Kyungsoo wants so much, wants to keep touching him, wants to kiss him again; he’s been wanting to since that night, but Yixing is making him work for it. Instead of following his more instinctual desires, Kyungsoo exchanges his soft hold og his skin with a tight pinch, Yixing’s light voice comes out as a loud whine, an adorable little squeal that has Kyungsoo laughing out loud.

“Let’s go back inside.” Kyungsoo lets Yixing’s cheek go, his grip has left two pale spots on his face, the rest of his skin has turned red, trying to contrast the chilling air blowing all around them.

The king takes large, shakey steps on the slimy ground under the water, when standing, the surface reaches just above his knee, but the temperature forced on him by the water is nothing compares to the wind hitting him through his wet clothes, he can’t help the fierce shivering that ripples through his body and he can feel Yixing’s hand trembling as he holds it. They quickly put their feet back on the path to the palace, eager to go back to more mild temperatures.

“Goodness, who thought that would have been a funny prank?” Yixing complains, all of a sudden trying to making it sound like he hadn’t been the first to get them on their way to get a bath in icy water.

“I wonder who…” Kyungsoo glares at him and lets go Yixing’s hand to pinch his side, the actor jumps away and puts his hands forward to fight him off, his voice breaks in the same endearing giggling Kyungsoo has heard many times before. Kyungsoo feels a bit bad when he almost slips again on the snow because of his flailing, so he lets him go for now, not wanting to risk to injure him seriously. “Come closer.” The king invites him after he sees him shiver violently, he opens his arms to make the offer more explicit, Yixing looks at him distrustfully for a short while, “We’ll keep each other warm while we walk back.” he explains, the actor does move closer at that, humming under his breath, but still looking at him with some playful skepticism in his eyes.

The sun is already starting to set, the sky that had been light blue until then is starting to paint itself in shades of orange and pink, the sun rays shine brightly behind the few clouds still inhabiting the untouched vastness of the firmament. Unfortunately, the warmth of the colours tinting the atmosphere and the closeness between their bodies still isn’t enough to ward off the frigid hands of the wind; but Yixing looks so beautiful under this light, his arms are draped around Kyungsoo’s shoulders and his waist fits perfectly in his hold.

The servants waiting for them at the entrance of the palace panic at the sight of them drenched and shivering from the cold. They immediately pull them apart and cover them with two of Kyungsoo’s furry cloaks. Only two of them fuss over Yixing while the rest focus on the king, their concern makes him feel like a kid again, being pushed and pulled around by too many hands. The amount of people moving and talking around him almost makes him miss the moment they start making Yixing move away; Kyungsoo looks at the scene torn, if he lets him go without a word, it will be another day passed on with no sort of development, he isn't one to force things he knows it'll be worth waiting for, but at the same time, the end of the time he'll be able to spend with him has already started to hang heavily in the air, no matter how they both make a conscious effort to ignore it.

“Wait!” he calls out, the volume of his deep voice overpowers the quiet words of his servants, Yixing stops as he realizes Kyungsoo is talking to him “My personal bath is always kept ready, it’ll be quicker if you join me.” it’s not the first time he invites someone so explicitly, but the way Yixing’s face is morphed by unrestrained embarrassment is making him feel a bit bashful as well.

“There’s no need for that, your Majesty, I can wait for them to prepare-” He tilts his head, bowing slightly to appear more polite as he refuses.

“Yixing, I am terribly worried about your health, you shouldn’t be waiting any longer.” Kyungsoo isn't exactly lying, but he is also not sharing all of the reasons behind his invitation, he exits the circle of servants gathered around him and walks to Yixing’s still trembling form “Prepare clean robes for our guest and bring them to my personal bathroom.” he orders and the two women that had been guiding Yixing to his room take off alone to do as told.

“I had no idea that your Majesty…” Yixing starts while the two of them walk to the room, the servants escorting them, trail behind quietly, Kyungsoo can’t hear them let out even a breath “Were such a bad liar.” he snickers, referring to the excuse Kyungsoo has put up to invite him in his private bathroom.

“I am offended you would think I don't value your health...” Kyungsoo slowly gets closer to him, his hand finds Yixing’s naturally, he wants to end the sentence with something that he hopes will sound romantic, but the words get stuck in his throat when a millions of possibilities cross his mind.

Their paths divide momentarily as Kyungsoo is brought to his personal dressing room to undress and prepare for the bath, the same is done with Yixing, but instead of letting himself be accompanied by a servant, he is adamant in doing everything by himself. Kyungsoo 's forehead creases in deep lines at his protests when a servant insists, Kyungsoo has never dressed or undressed by himself in his entire life, the realization hits him in a sort of weird way, the difference between his life and Yixing’s becomes more stark as they grow closer, as if becoming more intimate might reveal itself to be the reason they drift apart.

The amount of steam rushing towards him when he pushes open the door to the bathroom makes it hard to see inside, he steps in confidently anyways, not fearing to run into anything, as he knows exactly where everything is. He is left a bit startled when he sees a figure standing in the haze, but his eyes lay over it with familiarity, his subconscious recognizes Yixing before he can do it actively.

The room is a bit hazy still, not enough to be unable to see, but just the right amount to make Yixing look like he stepped out of a dream. He is still wearing a robe, the dark yellow of the fabric stands out violently bright among the uniform, more understated reddish brown of the wood covering the entire room. Kyungsoo’s head spins, the thin air in the room doesn’t supply enough oxygen to his quickening breaths, his own robe slides uncomfortably against his skin as his chest raises, the humidity makes the dark blue silk stick to him.

The servants keep their stance on his sides, both of them waiting for the king to walk into the room and let them continue with their duties. Kyungsoo sees them fidget in the tail of his eye, he glances to the one on his right and moves his head to point at the entrance, silently ordering them to leave.

The door finally closes behind Kyungsoo and he takes a step, Yixing has turned, offering a view of his broad back to the king. The fabric is still covering him, although it seems that it won’t be the case for much longer, as Kyungsoo can see his arms move, hopefully undoing the fastening around his waist.

Kyungsoo clears his throat, Yixing quickly glances in his direction before he turns to face him “I am not used to taking baths with other people.” he says and his hands immediately start playing with the long strip of fabric keeping his robe closed, Kyungsoo recognizes the same habits of the nervousness Yixing used to display when he had just arrived to the palace. Yixing’s light voice sounds slightly darker, heavy enough to have him feel the need to clear his throat.

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, but he moves forward, trying to overcome the struggle between his body and his brain, both of them rendered useless by the vision in front of him.

“If you feel uncomfortable I can wait outside…” Kyungsoo offers after moments of struggle to gather himself, deciding to take a step back, both physically and metaphorically. Yixing has made him realize how used he is to being assertive, not leaving much space to discuss his decisions, although, to his defense, the percentage of people that have contested his words until now is close to zero. They already are in the current situation because of his own rash judgement, but it’s not too late to hear what Yixing thinks about it.

Yixing looks at him for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options, Kyungsoo sees his sparse eyebrows furrow and then his eyes look him up and down, he feels frozen stiff, pinned to his spot by Yixing’s intense gaze alone. Instead of speaking again, Yixing’s fingers start pulling on the fastening of his robe, Kyungsoo feels himself being knocked off his feet, he observes his slim hands busy themselves with the tight knots keeping the band of smooth fabric together.

Kyungsoo starts taking sure steps towards him, Yixing turns slightly, avoiding having to face the king so closely. Kyungsoo keeps a flimsy distance between them, his hands itching to reach for him and help him ease the robe down his shoulders. The subtle way with which Yixing is looking at him, after he gathers the courage to meet his eyes again, seems to say that he would like that too, but the invitation becomes more explicit when he undoes the knot and lets the only article of clothing he is wearing hang loosely over his body. Kyungsoo feels his head spin, each turn becoming faster as the smooth, light fabric caresses Yixing’s body. Kyungsoo's eyes observe his body through the narrow space left uncovered between the two rims of the robe, it reminds him of the view he is greeted by when he opens the doors and is gifted with an endless cover of untouched white snow, except this time he sees lightly tanned skin, the soft lines and ridges of defined muscles; along side awe he feels a much more carnal sensation pervade his body.

Yixing lays a gentle grasp around his wrist and guides his hand “I am still not sure what are your intentions,” he says, Kyungsoo’s palm splays on his chest “I hope I am not the only one who has been thinking about this.”

“No, goodness,Yixing, no.” Kyungsoo responds calmly, his deep voice resounds loudly in the silent room, his tone reaching depths that make his own core tremble, hopefully the sensation has travelled far enough to touch his companion as well “I have been waiting for you… To reciprocate.”

Yixing hums lowly as he uses his hold on Kyungsoo's arm to pull him closer, his fingers play with the elusive fabric and the firm flesh of Yixing's pecs; he is slowly escorted upwards and soon his fingertips are stumbling over the dip of his collarbones. Kyungsoo sees the bright yellow fabric move and slide, always a breath away from revealing parts of Yixing's body that he has never had the fortune to pose his eyes on, but just at the last second the actor moves his legs or his arms in an effort to keep it in place, the king feels himself holding his breath and then release it in disappointment every time it happens. The actor consistently keeps himself covered just enough to be barely decent, but the expanses of untouched skin he shows without shame still manage to feed Kyungsoo's completely indecent imagination: the way his firm thighs just barely peek through the fabric, the flesh of the muscles on his torso rippling as he shudders, the veins on his neck and bulging down his arms, his Adam's apple moving when Kyungsoo catches him gulp down who knows what sort of weight settling in his throat. All of it fuels Kyungsoo interest instead of simmering it, Yixing's clumsy attempts at hiding himself make him look even more alluring.

“That's quite different from what I have heard about the way you like to lure in sweet, young dancers.” Yixing is laughing, half because of his words, half because Kyungsoo is using his fingers to caress Yixing's neck where he is the most sensitive.

“One of these days Baekhyun is going to wake up without his tongue in his mouth.” Kyungsoo jokes and Yixing scrunches his nose,

“I am glad he talked to me about it, though..." Yixing tilts his head, guiding Kyungsoo's hands off his neck "Since it seems he wasn't wrong in assuming that I would fit your Majesty's standards for a partner. ” he adds a bit cheekily, as his hand moves down Kyungsoo's arm, his nails scratch his skin pleasantly. Yixing leaves him free to roam his skin at his own volition, but before moving, the king brings his other hand at the same level of the one touching lightly Yixing's right collarbone, mirroring the action on his left side.

“Is that why you felt so uncomfortable around me?” Kyungsoo is playing with the edges of Yixing's robe, he lets them escape his flimsy touches and ride down Yixing's broad shoulders, the fabric slides off him as light as a feather. Kyungsoo is sure he had been thinking of more words to add to his question, but they've disappeared the moment he had to gulp down the feelings stirring inside him and clogging his throat.

“I don't think there was the slightest chance for me to feel at ease being so close to someone of your caliber…” Yixing speaks up and halts the descent of the fabric covering him, Kyungsoo makes a show of his disappointment by clicking his tongue “But knowing that you might feel attracted to me surely didn't help… Even if my looks are quite average compared to the beauties you have collected in the palace.” Kyungsoo looks at him in disbelief,

“The fact that you can describe yourself as average in anyway is insulting, what word are average people supposed to utilize if you use it to describe something outstanding under every aspect?” Yixing looks away from Kyungsoo, he tries to push him far from him, but the king is relentless.

“Such senseless praises, your Majesty…” Yixing’s voice is feeble, his hand poses on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, he sees the edges of his lips turn upwards: a soft, embarrassed smile blossoms on his face.

“...Kyungsoo,” the king starts, “Call me Kyungsoo, Yixing.” he demands, needing to know what his name sounds like when Yixing calls it. The actor is shaking his head before he can even finish talking

“No, I have already been insolent enough…” Yixing is pulling himself away from Kyungsoo and the robe back on his shoulders, the sudden self-consciousness makes the king snort lightheartedly, while he lays a light touch on his elbow, refusing to let Yixing escape his tender care.

“Please?” he asks then, his tone less forceful, his left hand lays a gentle touch against Yixing’s jaw, he makes him turn to look back at him directly, Yixing’s eyes avoid his for a short moment, before they find them again; Kyungsoo smiles at him and holds the back of his head, pulling him until their foreheads touch, he hums again but with a questioning tilt to his voice, encouraging the actor to abide to his request.

Yixing’s features take a sour expression that has Kyungsoo laughing, the actor observes him quietly, his face relaxing when Kyungsoo’s lips stretch happily. Yixing tilts his head, pushing himself closer, Kyungsoo caresses his dark hair as their lips barely touch each other.

“...Kyungsoo.” he whispers after closing his eyes and breathing in a short intake of humid air, Kyungsoo continues to smile through the kiss that follows, a not very successful attempt that Yixing puts on to mask his bashfulness.

Kyungsoo feels his heart beat out of his chest, he can count the people allowed to call him by his name on the fingers of one hand and now Yixing is being added to them, after only a few weeks of knowing him. It’s almost laughable how many guidelines of the etiquette he is breaking at the moment.

“That was sweet.” he means to say it jokingly, but the fond tone of his voice doesn't let him lie. Yixing hides his face in Kyungsoo's neck, he can hear him laugh lightly “Let’s get in the bath.” Kyungsoo decides suddenly, exploiting their current positions and the unexpected factor to finally tear the robe off Yixing's body.

There's a big gasp after that and Yixing's feet running away, Kyungsoo is left on his spot by himself, the yellow fabric still in his left hand and his companion rushing to get in the tub. What Kyungsoo manages to catch of Yixing's nudity has him feel blood rush to his ears and down, between his legs.

Yixing is staring at him from inside the warm water, only the top of his head peeks out and the surface in front of him ripples with bubbles from his breathing. Contrary to him, Kyungsoo goes through the motions calmly, mostly because it's in his nature to not rush tasks, no matter how much time they take, and also because he is used to sharing baths and have servants with him most of the times he needs to wash himself or entertain a consort. Once again, he finds himself wondering how different it is to grown up outside of the palace like Yixing, maybe those circumstances would have made him different.

“If you don't come up to breathe you'll drown.” Kyungsoo dips a first foot in the warm water, he can see Yixing's eyes follow the movement, all of a sudden, he thinks he understands Yixing's embarrassment, no one stares at Kyungsoo ever, the rules are strict, and make it clear that the Heavens’ son should never be looked at directly, a rule that his best friend and sometimes his favourite consorts can overlook with no repercussions. But Yixing is _staring_ at him intently, Kyungsoo sees and feels his eyes leave a trail over every inch of his skin and he tries not to think about the places where he sees them linger. He surely isn't in the same shape he used to be at twenty, when his days as crown prince were filled with activities meant to train his body for war, he still retains some of the firmness, but all the lines of his muscles have been blissfully filled out with the excellent cuisine he is served each day.

“How much do you train to keep yourself in this form?” Kyungsoo asks as he sits in the bath, the water is still warm, but he can tell he will have to ask the servants to warm it up in a short while. At this point, his body has already retained a more ideal temperature, but the warm water feels healing nonetheless, letting it flow all around him pulls apart the knots in his shoulders and undoes the tight hold of the stress keeping him hostage. He regrets not having scrubbed himself before getting in, though.

“Everyday,” Yixing shrugs, he moves a bit closer, his shoulders bumps against Kyungsoo's, he looks glaringly less nervous now, even considering that the water doesn't really do much to cover his nudity, Kyungsoo still takes it upon himself to be respectful and never let his gaze fall to the half of Yixing's body submerged under the clear surface. “Sometimes I have fighting roles and I am not as young as I used to, I need to put in more effort to keep up with the younger actors.” Yixing's head falls back, Kyungsoo barely manages to catch the bottles on the side of the tub that he was about to knock down “Sorry…” Yixing looks at him as if he were drowning in perfect bliss instead of lukewarm water “I have a big head.” The way he slurs his words make him look even prettier than usual.

“How old are you?” Kyungsoo asks then, eager to continue the conversation and maybe take it deeper than it’s ever been before.

Yixing smiles sweetly, Kyungsoo sees his hand reach for him under the water just to pat his thigh “Let's do one question each.” He dodges the question skillfully and speaks up again immediately after, letting no space for Kyungsoo to protest “How do you feel about this?”

“About what?” Kyungsoo tilts his head, not understanding the object of Yixing's question.

“Being a king, being here and about having your hair pulled up like that all day.” The actor seems more alert, his eyes glint brilliantly.

“I thought it was one question each?” He asks playfully, making Yixing smile “I am afraid my answers won't be that interesting, this life is all I've ever known, I don't have anything else to compare it to… And no, I have no special feelings about my hair, it's the sign that I'm a man… A married man.”

Yixing picks himself up after hearing that “This is the sign that you're married?” He asks, mimicking along his words to make sure he has understood correctly, Kyungsoo nods his head, he lowers it slightly to give full access to Yixing as he starts to touch his topknot, he can feel him pull his hair lightly before he hears his voice “Can I undo it?” Kyungsoo had specifically asked his servants not to do anything to his hair for now seeing as he still has to dine, but now that it's Yixing asking it's hard to say no, so he nods again, but he sighs as well, a bit concerned with how willing he is to go along with him.

The sound of his metal headpiece being posed on the wooden surface built around the tub is loud in the quiet room, Kyungsoo flinches a bit at the sound, his focus had been overwhelmed by the direct view of Yixing's chest, only a couple of centimetres from his face, his skin prickled with shivers from being out of the water and his small, dark pink nipples are hard and tight, pretty much demanding for Kyungsoo to pay attention only to them. His head feels lighter, the familiar sensation of undoing his hair pervading him, he feels some of the tightness linger at the top of his scalp even as his dark hair cascades down his shoulders, Yixing hums and passes his fingers through the strands “So it's really true that there's different blood in royals’ veins.”

Kyungsoo's eyebrows furrows “Why do you say that?” he questions confused.

“Normal humans don't look this handsome.” He kisses Kyungsoo's cheek, his nose nuzzles behind his ear

“Do you prefer seeing me with my hair down?” Kyungsoo asks, taking notice of Yixing's suddenly more affectionate mood.

“Yes,” he answers without taking a moment to think “I prefer acting like I’m not aware that you're married." Yixing raises his right index finger and his tone becomes jokingly pedantic, "The only thing my mother taught me is to not get involved with married men and she's gone through a lot of them, so I should trust her judgement.” He says it light-heartedly, but the sentence has Kyungsoo's head become dizzy with the amount of questions he could ask about that quick handful of words.

“Marriage is a loose term for royals, I didn't choose my wife and she hasn't chosen me.” Kyungsoo explains, his temples are starting to pulse, sign that an headache is incoming, he closes his eyes trying to fight it off.

“I had figured it out after seeing how many rooms are occupied by your concubines,” he laughs, as his fingers keep threading through Kyungsoo's long hair, his touches are gentle, soothing to the point of not letting Kyungsoo react to his words “I'm sorry, that was rude.”

Kyungsoo's eyelids raise and he looks at Yixing, he breathes out loudly, his nostrils flare with how forcefully he pushes the air out “Do you want to get married?” He asks, not bothering to start another quarrel about Yixing's unnecessary apologies.

“Of course... I would like to.” He smiles and Kyungsoo mirrors him naturally. The king draws closer to Yixing, he kisses him softly, while at the back of his mind he starts to imagine what it would be like to be in Yixing's shoes, be free to choose any partner he likes. Maybe Yixing himself might already have someone waiting for him at home.

He kisses him harder, more insistently as his thoughts keep running, not sure about the bitter taste spreading from the back of his tongue and the slightest twinge of jealousy feeding into it. Jealous of Yixing's freedom and jealous of him, of whoever he will end up with.

"You don't have to perform tomorrow, spend the day with me." Kyungsoo asks against his lips, Yixing doesn't respond using words, but he kisses him again, his soft voice breaking in a low moan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lines yixing acts out in the garden are from "the peony pavilion" and the performance is from "the drunken beauty"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay!!!  
> and it turns out that this needs another chapter... so there will be five instead of four.

Kyungsoo is shaken awake, pulled into consciousness with light touches of unfamiliar hands, it’s been a long time since his servants have found him still sleeping, instead of already awake and waiting. Kyungsoo’s eyes slowly open, he looks around himself lazily, feeling disoriented, despite how easily he recognizes his surroundings.

“Good morning, your Majesty!” the servants greet him as usual and then continue with their routine tasks, preparing Kyungsoo’s morning.

Kyungsoo goes through the motions opposing no resistance like he does every morning, letting them freshen him up, dress him, feed him and then escort him out of his rooms. Somewhere in his head, he keeps thinking that if he asked them to, they would let him do everything on his own, like a normal man living outside of the palace.

“Let the advisors know that I will be busy today, the assembly will be postponed to tomorrow morning.” The servant on his right bows his head and takes off without a word. Kyungsoo smiles at the prospect of the day that awaits him.

“Good morning, your Majesty.” Yixing is alone, already waiting for him at their usual spot, gazing outside of the entrance from where all their walks begin. This morning his cape is made out of white, heavy fabric, the shade is a perfect match with the snow still piled outside. Its level seems to have risen since the day prior, it must have started snowing yesterday night, after Kyungsoo and Yixing parted ways out of the king's quarters, both breathless, with their lips swollen and red. All the spots where it had started to melt and show the ground underneath are covered in white once again “I was thinking of taking a walk, but we might freeze to death after one step.”

The tip of his nose and his cheeks are already tinted bright pink, rendered raw by the cold; Yixing smiles and walks quickly in front of him, he suddenly grasps his hand, the gelid touch has Kyungsoo flinching and moving away, shivering as the ghost of the outside air ripples over his skin

“No walks today,” Kyungsoo says seriously after having had a taste of the temperature out of the palace, another shudder runs up his spine as he moves to the door to snap it shut “Have you eaten yet?” he asks, changing the topic.

Yixing nods his head, “I had warm soup and ginger tea,” he looks satisfied, not noticing how Kyungsoo is observing him with his eyebrows furrowed, almost disbelieving.

“You call that breakfast? Hot water might cure every disease, but the weather is too cold to down only tea and broth.” Kyungsoo pulls him away from the doors and circles his waist, deciding that they both need a healthy second, or in Yixing's case first, serving of food.

The day continues in that same careless way, Yixing and Kyungsoo spending time together aimlessly. Kyungsoo guides Yixing through the rooms he still hasn't seen: they waste a few hours in the library and then move to the rooms dedicated to convivial games; they play Tuho, Yixing’s form is more balanced so he doesn’t struggle to send all his arrows in the goals, and then have a go at Yutnori, but Yixing has never played it before and Kyungsoo lacks the vocabulary to explain the rules efficiently.

Since the morning the atmosphere between them has been oscillating, fluctuating between their more usual friendly politeness and that titillating, sultry way of conversing they had been testing out during their time in the bath, there are more unspoken, exciting emotions lingering in the mood, all left behind by the night before; once in a while Yixing’s sweet eyes bat away the sugar and glint with that mischievous light that makes him unpredictable, his actions could go any direction and Kyungsoo begins to learn to just accept it, after all he’s never not enjoyed the surprises coming from Yixing.

It’s a blissful, fun time, the kind of day that Kyungsoo didn’t expect to live again after being crowned. His days are always strictly planned, understandably so, every hour filled by the many responsibilities he has to abide to; but today he gets to spend an entire day of freedom, or at least more freedom than he's had in the past years.

Unfortunately, he is pulled away from Yixing in the early evening by an advisor explaining that the people that Kyungsoo had to meet for dinner have been adamant in requesting for his presence and it would hurt his impeccable reputation to turn them down. Kyungsoo leaves behind that day of fun with a heavy heart, wishing Yixing a good night and thanking him for the lovely company he has provided him with, before he is being pulled in a room to have dinner with loud merchants looking for a deal. Kyungsoo manages to keep to himself anyways, letting his mind run wild with the memories of the day he's spent with Yixing and with the hopes that he will have more days like it in the future.

So, Kyungsoo is understandably surprised to see Yixing still roam the palace late at night, after he’s done with all the guests he had to meet. He catches sight of him almost by chance, while making his way to his rooms; he finds him sitting with some of the servants, keeping his hands busy by helping them complete their work. Despite the status he has, being such a valued, well loved guest, he kneels, works and laughs with them. Kyungsoo sighs, he wants to reprimand him, no host would let a guest involve themselves with such things, but he knows that whatever he might say to him about the matter will probably not mean anything to Yixing; the court’s rules slide off him like water off a duck’s back.

“Isn’t it late to be working?” Kyungsoo comes behind him, the servants bow their heads the moment they see him; Yixing lowers his head as well, but the gesture is far from the seriousness displayed by the people around him, Kyungsoo is glad he has taken that as a habit, it takes the stiffness out of their relationship, makes Kyungsoo feel closer to him.

“I’m not tired yet.” Yixing shakes his head and smiles, “I was waiting for you.” Kyungsoo is elated by the words, his heartbeat picks up its pace in his chest.

“It’s already so late," The sun has set hours ago and the palace is already drowned in the low, frigid temperature of a usual winter night "You didn't need to.” Kyungsoo raises a loosely closed fist in front of his lips as he clears his throat, attempting to mask how giddy the actor's words have made him.

“You said we were going to spend the day together…” Yixing hums and scoots a bit closer to the fireplace warming the entire room.

Kyungsoo sees him continue to shiver, so he shrugs the heavy fur cloak off his shoulders and raises one of his hands to stop any of the servants from trying to grab it, he takes a strong hold of it and poses it on Yixing’s shoulders “I’ll accompany you to your room.” he decides.

Yixing’s hands leave the fabric of the hanbok he had been helping dry in front of the fire and holds onto the fur, pulling it tighter around his shoulders, when Kyungsoo sees him struggle to get up comfortably, he offers him a hand, Yixing nods his head lightly to thank him, his fingers grabbing his palm tightly; contrary to the morning, his hand is warmer than Kyungsoo's now and it lingers in his hold even after it has served it's purpose. Once he’s on his feet he bows and apologizes to the servants, they don’t understand what he is saying, but they all bow back and smile at him warmly. The entire palace is irretrievably charmed by him.

“I never have much to do after performing, at least I could make myself useful today.” Yixing says after they’ve walked past a few of the closed rooms and empty aisles of the palace, their path illuminated only by the moonlight coming from outside.

“You could have spent the entire evening doing nothing.” Kyungsoo shakes his head “Instead I find you drying my clothes.”

“I don't think I can continue to just sit around and do nothing...” Yixing bumps into his side, just a while ago he would be on his knees asking for forgiveness, now he just laughs and encourages Kyungsoo to play along with him “At least I have a backup plan if being an actor doesn't work out for me.”

“You’re a man of many talents,” Kyungsoo laughs it off, as if he isn’t imagining Yixing in a small home in the countryside, maybe by the river, built like one of the small manors he’s read of in novels, busy taking care of the house, small barn animals, of a garden large enough to feed himself and his family. Kyungsoo almost puts himself in the fantasy too, but quickly tells himself to discard the thought.

They finally reach Yixing's room, it's one of the biggest guest rooms the palace is equipped with, not as spacious as Kyungsoo’s but still large enough to have him wonder what can someone like Yixing do with that much space. When the actor pushes the doors apart, Kyungsoo feels a bit stupid for having asked, even if he only did in the privacy of his own mind.

Obviously, the room is filled with his costumes, all laid out and displayed on wooden, vertical supports. Kyungsoo enters after Yixing, debating whether he should close the doors or leave them open, the answer is supplied to him when he sees the strict lines of his closest servants walking towards him, coming from the same direction Yixing and himself have just crossed; he snaps the doors closed without a second thought and steps inside.

From up close, the fabrics and gems are even more riveting, Kyungsoo’s eyes dart from one edge to the other, struggling to take it all in. He stops by the bright yellow and blue cape worn by Yixing during his first performance, he takes one of the edges in his hand, his thumb follows the lines of an embroidery he had never noticed before, it's the silhouette of a peacock with his folded tail, all done in red thread over the light yellow fabric, Kyungsoo follows it along the seams, gradually growing more stunned by the amount of detail given to such a small thing that could go so easily unnoticed. After that, he reaches for the costume tinted with a pale peach colour, his hand takes one of its long, white silk sleeves; the fabric is smooth and elusive, it escapes easily between his fingers before he can get a tight grasp around it. In his mind the slow, graceful movement turns into the twirling and waving of the dances that he has seen Yixing perform.

“Do you want to try it on?” Yixing asks, posing his chin on Kyungsoo's shoulder, startling him.

“No, no, thank you.” Kyungsoo smiles and waves his hand refusing politely, he doesn't think his body was made for such theatrical clothing, his form isn’t as broad as Yixing's and his waist isn’t as thin. Yixing takes a step back and purses his lips, clearly disappointed, but it doesn't take too long for him to light up again.

“What about the makeup?” he asks excited as he takes Kyungsoo's hand in his and starts pulling him along before he can even answer, not really leaving him with any choice but to agree.

Yixing instructs him to sit down near the only table in the room as he sheds Kyungsoo's fur off his shoulders. Kyungsoo takes time to observe the wooden furniture, it's surface has an ungodly amount of stains over it, the colors are the same he has seen painted across Yixing’s face during his performances. The actor pulls up his sleeves and roams the room, reaching into drawers and small containers; Kyungsoo realizes he likes seeing him so at ease in the room a bit too much. Yixing comes back in a flash, dropping over the table many brushes of different dimensions and small, round black pots, over the monocrome surface of the objects there are numerous messy strokes and the impressions of Yixing's fingertips in white and red. Yixing opens the pots one by one, revealing all of his paints; seeing that bright red, that Kyungsoo is so fascinated by, concentrated in the container makes it seem so much more intense, the sight has Kyungsoo humming low in his throat and reach for it. Suddenly his willingness to go along with Yixing’s plans is turned on its head and when Yixing sits down in front of him, he pulls the brush out of his hand unceremoniously.

“How about you talk me through the steps, while I do it to you?” he offers,

“You’re not letting me do anything…” Yixing curls his lips, exaggerating the disappointment in his voice, his hand tries to get the brush back

“Let me try.” Kyungsoo moves his hand away and bites the inside of his cheek, keeping himself from smiling.

“Are you sure you can do it? It’s not easy...” Yixing raises his eyebrows, trying to appear haughty. Kyungsoo wants to pull his cheek for being insolent, he especially wants to attack the deep dimples creasing the skin on the sides of Yixing's blossoming, mocking smile.

Yixing probably doesn't know - unfortunately, he is quite sure he does - but Kyungsoo has always been useless with learning, his teachers have ever praised Kyungsoo’s studying ability like they do with Sehun's; he’s a good listener, but having to study or being forced to learn things has rarely worked out successfully with him. Kyungsoo feels confident with this particular attempt, though; knowing that his prize will be seeing Yixing painted in that beautiful way, that has so many times taken his breath away, makes him eager to try it out and give it his best.

“Well then, as you desire, King of kings.” Yixing closes his eyes and bows his head, while holding a hand to his chest, still mocking him; Kyungsoo decides he’s had it with him and flicks his forehead, he feels bad when Yixing gasps, taken by surprise, and starts whining “I can’t believe you would something like this to an actor’s face!"

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Kyungsoo coos jokingly, he puts his hand on Yixing’s head, ruffling the wavy strands of his dark hair.

“And I was always kind enough to never believe Baekhyun, when he said that you only know how to argue with your hands…” Yixing’s voice continues to complain, while looking at the sky, looking like he has just been subjected to the worst of offenses, Kyungsoo laughs through the whole thing, thinking to himself quietly that this is one of the reasons he always enjoys himself so much around performers and around Yixing in particular.

“Please forgive me.” Kyungsoo is still chuckling as Yixing keeps up the act, he shoves Kyungsoo’s hand off his head and then taps his forehead with his own finger, pointing at the ugly red splotch right in the middle of his, otherwise, unmarred skin “What?” Kyungsoo asks rasing an eyebrow, suspecting his intentions but wanting to see if he’ll have the guts to say it out loud.

“Kiss it better,” Yixing says with absolutely no shame, he even pushes out his chest a bit, like he’s proud of it. Kyungsoo grimaces, thinking how different their standards are, Yixing is being so upfront saying things that would make Kyungsoo shrivel up in disgust if he had to say them, but then he’d rather die than do something as harmless as being seen naked.

Kyungsoo gets on his knees and holds Yixing’s head tightly, he poses a kiss on his forehead with no hesitation, pushing a bit more than he usually would just to make him still feel the sting, Yixing doesn’t give him the satisfaction, though, offering no reaction other than one of his cute smiles and a kiss of his own to his cheek.

“Mix the white with some of the red,” Yixing begins his explanation after they’ve sorted themselves out, he orders all the pots in a line on the table and makes Kyungsoo put down the brush he’s still holding “You have to use your fingers to warm it up.” he responds to Kyungsoo’s curious look.

Kyungsoo dips his finger in the white paint tentatively, letting his fingertip gather only a small amount, not knowing how much of it they will need. Yixing takes his other hand from where it had been laying, limply between his crossed legs, and holds it up to turn it and point at its back “Put it here.”

Kyungsoo continues to do as told, taking only a short break to stand up and ask to the servant waiting out of the door to bring them soju. The mixture on the back of his hand has taken a soft shade of pink, the paints are smooth and the oil in their base make them easy to mix. Always using his finger, he starts to lather the color across Yixing’s face, he doesn’t receive any instructions for this part, Yixing just closes his eyes and offers his face without uttering a word. Kyungsoo had expected him to be more concerned, considering how much he adores his art, but to his surprise he is being nothing but open and encouraging; Kyungsoo would go as far as saying that he looks absolutely content to be putting his face in his clumsy care.

“You have good hands,” Yixing says when he has to open his eyes and search for the right brush, “Manly and soft.” he finishes as he hands him a thin brush, he mimics the way he will have to use it to draw the dark lines around his eyes,

“Yours are nice as well,” Kyungsoo picks the brush, his and Yixing’s fingers meet in a way that feels unnatural, both of them trying too hard to touch each other. It makes them laugh, both embarrassed, but still not shying away when one of them takes the first step to hold the other’s hand, their fingers intertwine loosely.

“They’re not as perfect as yours, playing instruments has roughened them.” Kyungsoo hums at that, feeling the pads of Yixing’s fingers scratch his softer skin.

“That makes them even more beautiful.” his words make Yixing smile, that is enough to make Kyungsoo smile as well “I still have to hear you play…”

“Flattery won’t convince me, if that's what you were planning.” Yixing snorts, his head moves slightly to the right, Kyungsoo flinches as he observes all his hard work being ruined. Yixing’s unsteady head has messed up his already uneven work, to a degree that seems unsalvageable: the dark marks on his eyelids are nothing like the dainty, perfect lines he displays usually, they look more like some of Sehun’s first calligraphy exercises, the one messed up by Yixing moving is particularly disheartnening to look at.

“Ah, it’s bad,” he sighs and lets go of the brush, Yixing is reaching for the silver mirror layed on the table, he raises it and turns the reflective surface towards Kyungsoo, the king is startled by his own image. Yixing start to count down from five, Kyungsoo sees his reflection in the mirror smile, he thinks he looks different, his features are relaxed in a way he hasn’t seen in a long time.

“...One!” Yixing gasps as he turns the polished silver on himself, it only takes a second before he starts laughing, quickly spiralling out of his mind “It’s _so_ bad! So splotchy…” he pulls his face in every way possible, laughing even at what Kyungsoo had deemed passable

Yixing stops making fun of him not too long after that, his eyes are still crinkling pleasantly when he starts side eyeing him with clear, unabashed mirth overflowing his brown irises “The most important part is still missing, though.” he takes a brush and dips its soft bristles in the soft, red pigment, as soon as he loads it appropriately, he offers the handle to Kyungsoo.

“You still want me to continue?” Kyungsoo asks eyeing his handy work and in what kind of bad state it's in.

“Of course, especially with this,” the tip of his finger taps his own lips, “I know it's your favourite part.”

Kyungsoo moves on his seat, picking himself up after having his posture deflated by disappointment “That's right.” he agrees promptly, already nearing the red to Yixing's lips.

“They have to be shaped like a yuanbao,” Yixing continues to instruct just before the brush touches his lips, as if Kyungsoo needed to be reminded of a shape that’s been ingrained in his brain since he’s first seen it.

“I know.” He says, while taking his time outlining the area he will have to fill with the colour. Seeing how smoothly the brush spreads color over Yixing’s lips helps Kyungsoo regain some confidence, he holds the instrument lightly and lets it do most of the job on its own, guiding it imperceptibly just to stay within the lines. The swipes he leaves on Yixing’s lower lip are continuous and brilliant, his plump flesh taking the colour as if it were meant to be there all the time.

Yixing’s eyelids lower over his vision as he lets his head lull back, using as support only the hand that Kyungsoo is keeping on his jaw; he parts his lips but doesn’t say a word, the new position makes it easier for Kyungsoo to complete his task, although the breath hitting his fingers proves to be a distraction too purposeful, too warm to be ignored. Nonetheless, the king manages to spread the colour appropriately, it’s a stark difference from what he has achieved in every other part of Yixing’s face.

“Done.” Kyungsoo’s voice whispers, his thumb caresses lightly the high point of Yixing’s cheekbone, trying not to move the oily paint off his skin, not that it would matter, considering how uneven everything is. Yixing’s eyes open up lazily, they haven’t even had two cups of soju, but he already seems a bit tipsy, his laughably low endurance must have been made worse by tiredness; Kyungsoo has exhausted him today, making him go along with him and his whims “Sleepy?” he questions, but Yixing shakes his head.

“Let’s see it…” he smiles knowingly, not hiding that he’s definitely thinking that his lips must have turned out as bad as the rest; his surprised reaction, when he sees his reflection, confirms it. “They came out great!” he’s suddenly a lot more ecstatic, seemingly having shaken off the lethargy that had been slowly overtaking him. Kyungsoo smiles, feeling a bit proud of himself “This part is a bit bumpy, but it’s not even noticeable.” Yixing uses his nail to adjust the edge of the lower lip, he pats the area lightly after it, bringing some of the paler paint to cover it up, his gestures are sure and expert, he’s probably gone through the process enough times to be able to recreate it perfectly even with his eyes closed.

Kyungsoo looks away from him for a moment to pour another round of soju in their cups, from the corner of his eye he sees Yixing leave the mirror on the ground. The king takes a sip and turns his attention back on his companion, he sees him on his hands and knees, crawling in his direction, his movements are deliberately slow and feline, Kyungsoo hears his throat gulp down the alcohol loudly, forcing its way through the tightness settled there by a first, vague hint of arousal.

Yixing carves himself a spot between Kyungsoo’s legs, his hands pull at the fabric covering his calves to pull them apart, Kyungsoo lets him move him as he pleases without a word, only squinting his eyes at him wondering what he is trying to achieve. The actor’s light voice jumps in a small satisfied sound and after Kyungsoo's legs are spread to his fancy, he turns and sits down right between his thighs, letting his back hit the king’s chest. He wiggles around for a while to shimmy himself down Kyungsoo’s body, until his head is leaning against his shoulder.

“Comfortable?” Kyungsoo asks, a playful tone shines through in his voice,

“Very!” Yixing nods his head and then reaches for Kyungsoo’s cup, stealing it right out of his hand.

Kyungsoo snorts as Yixing takes a sip without another word, when he lowers it back on the table, Kyungsoo can see the impression of his red lips over the white china. From this angle, Kyungsoo is able to see just how bad is work is, other than the patches on his cheeks left with no paint on it, he’s also managed to get some of the color in his hair, the ends of the strands on the left side of his head are all tinted in white. Kyungsoo lets his fingers brush through Yixing’s hair to pull apart any small knot in it and also in an effort to get the white out of it, rolls of paint get stuck under his short fingernails as he goes through it. Yixing’s hair is kept short, in a fashion that Kyungsoo doesn’t see every day, parted unevenly letting only one side of his forehead naked; his dark strands are naturally wavy, sometimes some of them stand up from the back of his head, in points that Yixing isn't able to see by himself and Kyungsoo never comments on them, appreciating them just as any other side of Yixing’s effortless charm. His hair does feel slightly coarse towards the ends, but that doesn’t take anything away from the sensation Kyungsoo feels when he lets it brush againt his palm, he continues to stroke it mindlessly, letting his fingers take over as they play with the longer strands, curling them and letting them fall back in place, Yixing pushes his head closer to his hand, his deep sighing almost sounds like the purring of a cat.

“Do you want to take a bath?” Kyungsoo dips his head forward, his deep voice coming out as a whisper directly into Yixing’s ear.

“Later.” Yixing shakes his head and turns, finding Kyungsoo still there, only a centimeter away from his face. His eyes close and Kyungsoo takes it as an invitation, not hesitating to move down to kiss him.

The slide of their lips feels easier than ever, the paint on Yixing’s transfers between them, making the kiss, wetter and messier than any other they’ve shared. Kyungsoo raises his left hand from the hardwood floor and poses it on Yixing’s chest, his palm lands right on his sternum, letting his fingers trail softly over the skin peeking out of the neckline of Yixing’s clothes. Yixing touches him too, puts his hand on his head, leaving soothing touches on the hair pulled tightly into his topknot.

They try to detach themselves from each other multiple times, but in turns, one of them continues to reach forward even before they can reopen their eyes; Kyungsoo decides to give up first, not having any actual interest in cutting short their exchange. To make his intentions clearer, he moves his hands, his nimble fingers travel to the short, oblique line of buttons starting from Yixing’s neck and reaching his left shoulder, he begins working on them one by one, undoing them with ease even with his eyes closed, with Yixing’s hands and his warm breath distracting him.

Yixing moves back when Kyungsoo sorts out the last of the buttons, his makeup is in an even worse shape than before, now his lips are just as messy as the rest, the paint having travelled past the lines of the shape Kyungsoo took great care in tracing, but also having reached past the edges of Yixing’s natural lips. Yixing continues to look at him, the bashful smile playing on his lips doesn't let Kyungsoo move his gaze away from him; he takes Kyungsoo’s hands off his chest and guides them to his left side, just above the slight curve of his waist, Kyungsoo’s fingers feel the shapes of more buttons, he touches them intently, trying to figure out how to undo them without looking.

While he works on those, Yixing taps his index finger on Kyungsoo’s lips “Now we match...” his smile has turned flirtatious and just overall gratuitously sweet, Kyungsoo has to kiss him again just for that, he leaves a quick peck on his cheek, the pale paint still on his face mixes with the red that Kyungsoo’s lips transfer onto it.

The fastening on Yixing’s side, after some struggling, is finally undone. Kyungsoo sneaks his hand under the first layer of fabric of the piece of clothing and moves straight to the two more buttons, on Yixing's right shoulder, that keeping it attached to the layer underneath. Yixing pulls on the fabric as well, helping him through the last steps keeping Kyungsoo from seeing him half naked.

It’s not the first time they see each other without clothes, but Kyungsoo still feels urgency, as if he still hadn’t had the pleasure to help Yixing out of his clothes before. Yixing arches his back and grabs Kyungsoo's arm as the fabric covering him finally becomes loose: its elegant, linear structure coming apart to let Kyungsoo’s hands reveal what they’ve been keeping covered.

Kyungsoo pulls it apart, his fingertips scrape Yixing’s skin, purposely stumbling over his already tightened nipples, making the actor’s voice break in a breathy, small moan, he bites the back of his hand softly before the sound can escalate.

“Can I take it off?” Kyungsoo sees Yixing shiver as the heavy sound of his voice resounds in the silent room, to respond he nods his head and hums, a loud sigh pushes past his nostrils as Kyungsoo takes action, Yixing extends his neck as the fabric slides off his body. Kyungsoo lets it go carelessly, his hands immediately landing on Yixing’s naked skin as if the nature of their attraction had been magnetic.

Yixing lays his slim hands over his as they take their time to explore, map out every inch of Yixing from his shoulders to the waistband of his light gray pants. His thumbs linger over his pink nipples, rolling them carefully under his pads and then pinching, encouraged by the way Yixing’s voice continues to become lower, the usually light sound becoming darker, pulled down by the weight of the desire rushing through his veins.

From above his broad shoulder, Kyungsoo sees the first signs of the crotch of Yixing’s pants becoming tighter, the fabric jumping in short, jerking motions, pulled up by the actor’s hardening length;  Kyungsoo kisses Yixing’s shoulder, once again leaving behind stark red traces of his lips.

The sight compels him to leave even more, trailing them over the left side of Yixing’s neck and then down his nape, before moving quickly to his right, marking every patch of skin he can reach. Yixing squirms, his sensitive skin tingling under the attentions it receives, his hands continue to accompany Kyungsoo as they travel downwards and he pulls them to a halt the moment they reach the fabric still fastened around his waist.

“You know, the servants have been quite concerned about you lately…” Yixing starts, playing with Kyungsoo’s impatient fingers “I’ve heard them say that the palace will be drowning in misfortune soon, if you don’t visit your consorts.”

Kyungsoo stops leaving kisses on him, taking a moment to think, he lowers his head and pushes the side of his face to bump against Yixing’s, his arms close around his waist, hugging him tightly “You should have been kind enough to explain to them why I don’t need to ask for the consorts’ services… That would have cleared all their worries.”

“Do I know why?” Yixing questions, sounding a lot more serious than Kyungsoo would have expected in these circumstances. He burrows his form closer to Kyungsoo's chest and he pulls his arms tighter around himself,

“Do I really need to say it?” Kyungsoo whispers, pulling his hands away, so that he can use them to hold Yixing’s face, his right hand touches the actor’s left cheek gently, his fingers barely applying any pressure to make Yixing’s head turn to face him, his eyes dart on Kyungsoo’s, silently firm and demanding, telling him his response even without having to use his words “Because since the day of my birthday,” Kyungsoo starts once Yixing raises his light eyebrows to egg him on even further “All my attention has been stolen away by one of my presents. He has been keeping me all for himself, with no attention to spare for anyone else.” 

Yixing looks away, “...You can say some embarrassing things when you’re in the mood.” he laughs, his nose scrunches up in that cute habit he always displays when he can’t take the embarrassment

“I don’t want to hear that from someone that can say them under every circumstance.” Kyungsoo complains, leaving his soft touch on Yixing’s jaw to pull his ear. Yixing isn’t having any of it this time, though, he closes his hand around Kyungsoo’s and tears the vicious gip off himself. He raises his back away from Kyungsoo’s chest and then turns to sit sideways still between Kyungsoo’s thighs, both of his legs extended over Kyungsoo’s own right one, his arms close tightly around Kyungsoo's neck to pull him closer, with the ultimate goal of having their faces brush against each other; Kyungsoo sees him take in a small breath before tilting his head and pushing forward to start kissing him again.

“If I knew you had these intentions, I would have prepared myself for you,” Yixing confesses quietly between a short kiss and the other. Kyungsoo caresses his face and then moves his hands down his back, feeling his muscles quiver under his touch.

“You shouldn’t be worrying about it now, Yixing.” Kyungsoo says, as he bends his knees and plants his feet on the ground “Although, it is strange that you still hadn't realized how much I’ve been wanting to be with you like this.” Kyungsoo pushes himself on his feet, maneuvering himself with a bit of difficulty to get on his knees, Yixing continues to hold his arms around him, not protesting when Kyungsoo lowers both of them to the ground, his left arm palms around the floor blindly, looking for his fur that Yixing had discarded somewhere nearby. He finds it and pulls it strongly, he grimaces at the sound of something more solid being dragged with it, but he never raises his eyes to check for any damage; the fur is laid underneath them at the best of their abilities, Yixing takes his hands off him to help out as well and then drops himself on the soft surface, immediately burrowing his half naked form into it.

“Are you cold?” Kyungsoo hovers above him, his lips still leave behind a faded red mark as he pecks his cheek.

“Yes, warm me up.” Yixing pulls Kyungsoo between his arms, moving his hands to caress the back of his head as his larger frame envelopes Kyungsoo tightly. His fingers start moving with a clearer purpose after they start kissing again, pulling and pushing to let loose Kyungsoo’s long hair. It cascades over them moments later, leaving Yixing’s fingers all the freedom to run through them and lightly massage his scalp. Kyungsoo hums deep in his throat not missing one of Yixing’s pecks and playful bites, pushing insistently to turn those fleeting exchanges into something more sultry.

Yixing still has both of his legs on one side, Kyungsoo tries to draw back to give him the freedom to get into any position he prefers, but when he does all he can focus on is the way in which Yixing’s back is stretched and twisted so beautifully, his skin made of pure, solid gold, glistening like the most precious of treasures under the soft glow of the warm, glowing lights illuminating the room. Kyungsoo lets his eyes trail over it, feeling enchanted and with a start of predatory desire settling in his body, his back arches and his nostrils flare, chasing the addicting attraction of the lust that perspires from Yixing’s body and from the heavy gaze that he settles on Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo reaches for the fabric still covering the lower half of Yixing’s body, there are tight knots on the side, that he manages to sort out in only a few seconds. The fabric moves easily off Yixing’s hip, lowering itself just enough to let Kyungsoo see the deep line carved onto his hip by his training and just the beginning of a the dark patch of dark, unruly pubes, not a trace of underwear in sight. The sound of Kyungsoo gulping down the absolutely unnatural amounts of saliva, being produced in his mouth, is _loud_. Yixing is smiling at him, as if he were able to read his thoughts, his slim fingers pulls Kyungsoo’s hand off the furs and guides it slowly, but surely, towards the spot where Kyungsoo’s eyes have been practically glued onto.

He pushes both of their hands under the fabric, Kyungsoo senses the familiar texture of hair trickling the tips of his fingers and then the velvety feeling of a particular patch of skin that Kyungsoo knows, he should be caressing lovingly, his fist closes around it tightly as he feels it shift and harden under his touch. Yixing keeps his hand on Kyungsoo’s, his nails dig into the king’s skin as he starts stroking him with more intent. Yixing squirms and trembles, his thighs push closer together and his arms jerk in short, harsh motions, sparked by the shudders running through his body; Kyungsoo stares at all his reactions, stores them in his mind carefully with the most amount of detail possible.

“Let me take them off.” Kyungsoo demands, going back to whisper into Yixing’s ears, his voice seems to be the catalyst for a wave of whole new responses: Yixing’s eyes shut tightly and his head moves away from the tantalizing sound of Kyungsoo's tone, his light voice comes out in moans that are soft and warm, that make Kyungsoo want to kiss him until neither of them will remember how it felt like to breathe in air without having to share it with each other.

Yixing nods his head, already raising his left side from the ground to help Kyungsoo slide the pants off him “You are so beautiful, Yixing… Goodness.” Kyungsoo’s fingers grasp his thighs, the flesh gives under his fingers, dipping into light valleys, Kyungsoo grips it even tighter, half to enxperience what it’s like to hold a handful of his firm, enticing skin and half to pry his legs apart enough to take a glance at what lies between them.

Yixing rolls on his back with his legs spread, one of them is still being held up by Kyungsoo; his dick is lying against his abdomen, there's precome already leaking from the tip, landing in a small puddle under Yixing’s navel, the liquid travels with a will of its own as Yixing's belly expands and retracts with his quick panting. 

“I want you here...” Yixing’s hand moves between his parted thighs, his long index finger plays with the rim of his entrance “So bad.” Kyungsoo doesn't know how to handle himself as he sees the muscle twitch under Yixing's touch after he is done talking.

Kyungsoo wants it too, has been wanting it for so long.

“Me too, Yixing… Me too.” Kyungsoo licks his dry lips, while staring at the tip of Yixing’s middle finger disappear inside himself, even that little seems like a stretch, he looks so tight, so inviting. Kyungsoo is having difficulty breathing, as if the vice grip Yixing’s rim is holding onto his own finger were constricting Kyungsoo’s throat as well.

“Not tonight…” Yixing’s lips turn upwards, his face already looks so gorgeously ruined, Kyungsoo wants to add to it, wants to pull everything out of him. The finger comes out and Yixing’s hand splays over his entrance, hiding everything from his sack down. Kyungsoo grips his thighs, trying to ground himself, but the attempt is useless, instead of holding him back, touching Yixing's skin makes him even needier; it pushes him to lower his head between Yixing’s legs and kiss, mark and bite the supple skin of his thighs, of his dick and of his hand, still covering his entrance. Yixing spreads himself wider, high keens make it out of his red lips when Kyungsoo takes a vicious bite of his flesh.

Kyungsoo raises himself and begins working on his own clothes, he reaches behind his nape to untie the laces holding everything together, urgency makes his hands stumble, but he still goes through his task moderately quickly, being forced to take short breaks to groan as Yixing starts stroking himself and playing with the hard buds on his chest.

He sheds as many layers of his clothes as he can care to waste his time with, he keeps on his white undergarments, pulling his hard erection through the hole on his crotch, finally letting his dick feel the direct touch of his hand.

Yixing’s hand leaves the grip on his own member and reaches for his, he strokes him tightly, holding a quick rhythm since the beginning, Kyungsoo has a short string of moans pulled out of him, he blinks his eyes quickly as he looks up at the ceiling. Yixing doesn't let him soak into the feeling for too long, tearing him out of it by pulling him from the flimsy fabric on his chest unceremoniously. Kyungsoo lands on him, his hands plant on the sides of his head, between their faces there's not even enough space to breathe.

“Your Majesty…” Yixing pushes his fingers among his long hair and cranes his neck, making the tips of their noses touch each other “Kyungsoo.”

The king's name comes out of his lips with an edge of pain, of need rooted deeply and demanding to be quenched, his forehead creases with deep lines, his eyebrows furrow and his mouth opens, his full lower lip drags against Kyungsoo's; once it touches him, Kyungsoo doesn't let it escape, taking it in his own mouth and easily falling back into the familiar pattern of their kissing.

Yixing begins to stroke him again as they kiss, Kyungsoo starts doing the same, but instead of matching the impatient pace of the hand between his own legs, he takes his time: leaving long, lazy caresses, his fingers stopping from time to time to tease Yixing's heavy sack  and the sensitive spot right under his dick's tip.

Yixing squirms underneath him, he continues to arch his back and extend his neck, Kyungsoo is connvinced he must be aware of how gorgeous his body looks when he goes through those particular motions; none of his movements ever come off as clumsy, his art seems to have trained every muscle in his body to only strive for beauty, making his system unable to produce anything that looks imperfect under any aspect. His legs raise in a knee-jerk reaction when Kyungsoo’s fingers brush over the wrinkled skin of his entrance, it’s just a light noncommittal touch, but it’s enough to make Yixing’s body tight with tension and push more, always thicker, precome out of his dick.

The new position has Yixing's strong thighs gripping Kyungsoo’s sides, they easily take over most of his thoughts and guide them steadily towards the most obvious conclusion.

He detaches his hand from Yixing’s hardness, the actor whines and tries to chase it with his on, pull it back where it had been, but Kyungsoo has a new drive and Yixing’s lazy, sultry attempts to get him back won’t be enough to win him over.

“Close your legs…” Kyungsoo says, already accompanying the movement with his hands glued on Yixing’s thighs, “Can I?” he asks, using his hands to push Yixing’s legs closer, making the object of his request clear

Yixing pursues his lips and taps them, the color that had been painted on them has completely rubbed off, Kyungsoo is sure he must have at least half of it rubbed onto his own face too. Kyungsoo blinks and suddenly two of his fingers are in his mouth, the way his tongue exits his mouth to lick over their length is filthy “Here?” Yixing asks, once he’s done with annihilating half of Kyungsoo’s mental capacities, he moves his hand down his abdomen, moments later Kyungsoo can see only their tip emerge out of the flesh of his thighs, as it parts lightly to accommodate their movements.

Kyungsoo nods, his dick is so ready for it, it jumps as he imagines how soft his skin will feel around him and how tightly it can grip down on him. Yixing parts his legs to reach for Kyungsoo, his hand guides his hardness between them, so that when he closes them once again he will be already between them. Kyungsoo stops him momentarily to look around himself, searching for anything close to them to spread on Yixing’s skin and ease the friction, he toys with the idea of using some of the oil based paint, but before he can come up with anything Yixing is already spitting in his hand and dragging it between his thighs, even though Kyungsoo grimaces at the solution, used to utilizing only the most expensive of oils, he can’t deny that his dick has never been harder.     

After the last preparations, they both let themselves go, completely swept away by pleasure, Kyungsoo’s thrusts and Yixing’s hands working hard to bring both of them to completion. Their position shifts multiple times as Yixing tries to find one that would let him pull Kyungsoo on himself and kiss him; out of everything they do that night, Yixing still seems to enjoy that the most. The realization has Kyungsoo’s chest constricting, his heart beating at unhealthy rhythms.

 

♢

 

The atmosphere in the library is always calm, a small, quiet island among the frenzy of the palace.

Kyungsoo loves spending time there, surrounded by high shelves preserving the books that hold between their lines all the precious stories that have kept Kyungsoo company during his adolescence. Being in that large room is the most efficient way to restore his mind and body after the time he is forced to spend abiding to his duties as king.

This afternoon the room’s healing properties are amplified by the presence of two of his favourite people: his dearest son and his lovely friend.

They are all sitting on the floor around the short table standing on the left side of the room, right under the only window, the view it offers is dyed in white, a new snowstorm is raging over the city, sitting inside shielded by the palace makes it hard to measure its intesity, no matter how hard Kyungsoo stares at the harsh wind pushing through the snowflakes, he can't imagine himself standing in the middle of it, his surroundings are too peaceful, too soothing to make him feel anything but warmth, even if it's just imaginary.

Yixing and Sehun are talking hushedly in front of Kyungsoo, both of them repeating syllables over and over again, focusing on the intonation of each of them. Kyungsoo smiles, listening to their slow, clumsy conversation, made difficult by the language barrier. In these past days, Kyungsoo has seen Yixing grow always more restless, always searching for something to do around the palace after being done with his own duties, usually Kyungsoo finds him invested into some kind of menial task, anything that he manages to get his hands on. It’s easy for him to snatch them away from the servants, no matter how little they understand of what he says to them, none of them is ever able to deny him.

So, in order to keep him from taking away more work from the royal servants, Kyungsoo has given him a job that only he would be able to do, namely, help Sehun exercise his basic Chinese conversation skills.

Sehun is completely focused on him and his work, Kyungsoo sees him mouth the words along with Yixing each time he repeats them, he isn’t able to distinguish the tones efficiently yet, but the king can tell there’s already progress being made after only a handful of lessons with Yixing, so the arrangement is proving to be nothing but beneficial; on top of that, Kyungsoo gets to spend some enjoyable time with them, everyone’s wishes have been appropriately taken care of.

Their light voices continue to murmur in the background, while Kyungsoo sits back and goes through his letters, one of them catches his eye from the unsuspecting pile: he immediately recognizes Baekhyun’s orderly handwriting scribbled over the paper. He sets it aside momentarily, deciding to go through the rest of the envelopes before opening it, taking just a few minutes longer to bask in the tranquil mundanity of the moment he is living, before risking to ruin it with whatever might be hiding in the letter.

It doesn’t take too much time to go through the other papers, they’re all invites and requests for meetings, most of them will have to be read by his advisors as well, before he can decide what is worth his attention and what isn’t. By the time he is holding Baekhyun’s letter in his hand, Sehun and Yixing have already left, one to move on to his next lesson and the other to begin the preparations for his daily performance.

Kyungsoo cuts through the paper decisively, pulling out the written pages in one single motion. He sees the slight slant in Baekhyun’s handwriting, the rushed, thoughtless way that morphs his writing when he has too many things to say and not enough time, or will, to put them down on paper nicely.

He talks about the sea, all the fish he is being served and the grand room that has been prepared for him over there; explaining everything in a, frankly uselessly, detailed way. To get to the main reason of the travel, Kyungsoo has to sit through three entire pages of Baekhyun’s amusing, but still unnecessary, stream of consciousness, that with no doubt he will have to be subjected to again once he returns to the palace.

He regrets having wasted energy to click his tongue at Baekhyun’s lengthy recount, because the new information he puts his eyes on makes him feel weakened and dizzy, but at the same time it makes Kyungsoo wish he was still reading the stories about fishermen and lovely landscapes, instead of the first few, ominous lines of the report about Wu Yifan. The words written down in black ink have Kyungsoo’s throat constrict, his body tense and the muscles of his jaw locking tight.

The words “Assassination conspiracy” and “Conspiracy against the King and Royal family” register somewhere in his brain, but it takes him a few minutes to truly digest them, even after that he still finds himself unable to properly grasp the numerous implications that they bring.

Baekhyun carries on writing that the advisors travelling with him have no intention to allow any sort of further investigation, after all, Wu Yifan is a foreigner caught red handed by the town’s guards and the only testimony they have in his favour is provided by one of his friends that wasn’t even present during his arrest, they are never particularly predisposed to offering second chances, but he’s sure that these conditions must have made their judgement inflexible, with no doubt they must be already asking for death penalty. Baekhyun says that he has taken it upon himself to sneak behind their backs and order the guards to help him search for alternative answers.

It takes a lot out of Kyungsoo to admit that he does pause for a second, it is only a quick flash blinding his vision, making him second guess everything that has happened until now. It’s feeble, but his trust trembles and he can’t stop the doubts from being risen, wondering whether he can be completely certain of entrusting the matter to Baekhyun. Yixing, Wu Yifan, they are Baekhyun’s friends, he’s been willing to travel through the country for their sake... But there’s no chance they would all be organizing themselves behind his back. Baekhyun is his cousin before being their acquaintance, he is Kyungsoo's closest friend, if he thought there was a threat against Kyungsoo’s life he wouldn’t try to unleash it, even less make himself a part of it.

 

_Right?_

 

Kyungsoo pushes two fingers in the neckline of his clothes, pulling it away from his skin, he feels on the brink of suffocating, thinking soullesly that it’s been quite a long time since he’s had to suspect someone close to him to be conspiring against him.

He folds the letter, allowing himself some time away from it, to sort out his thoughts, instead of letting himself dive into this kind of senseless spiralling.

 

After lunch, during Yixing’s performance, Kyungsoo stays quiet. He observes his fluid, effortless moves, his detailed, colorful costume and his gorgeous features, for the first time torn and genuinely worried by Yixing’s perfection.


	5. Chapter 5

For the first time in a long while, Kyungsoo spends the evening by himself, in dire need to be alone.

He takes his time to finally skim through the rest of Baekhyun's letter, which continues with a summary of the guards’ reports: there's mention of Wu Yifan being caught trying to flee from a small cabin built a few meters from the shore, the guards have been able to determine that he had been living in it by himself and that many of the objects, books, maps and diaries gathered in it had all in common the conspiracy against Kyungsoo and his family, the report of the gruesome details of their plans has Kyungsoo's skin crawling in fear, the mention of the intention of infiltrating the palace really doesn't help to make anything better. The guards describe Yifan as harmless, despite the size of his body and the accusations against him; he is docile, never showing signs that made his case a priority or pressing enough to be signalled to the royal palace, the risk of the man trying to break out is close to none and the rest of Baekhyun's words explain why.

He describes the man, who he remembered to be goofy, jovial and of titanic height, as deperished, thin and weighed down by a constant heavy mood, his eyes staying downcasted and inexpressive even as he easily recognizes Baekhyun's face. He also writes that he has seen him begin to cry at the mention of Yixing's name and of his efforts to help him become a free man again.

Kyungsoo bites harshly on his lower lip, pulling it restlessly while he reads. From the description, the man doesn't seem the treacherous conspirator he has been thinking about all day. Although, he _is_ an actor.

Baekhyun says as much in his next words, he describes him as placid and obedient, never once going against the guards’ orders, even when they try to show him off as if he were a trained monkey. It shines as clear as day through the conscious choice of Baekhyun's words, that he doesn’t believe Yifan to be involved with what the guards accuse him of.

Kyungsoo is worried, having seen his father being caught into threats of conspiracies more times than he can remember and eventually having his life taken away by it, as well as being subjected to attacks against his own life as well, makes it hard to put in him the same degree of trust that Baekhyun is investing so easily. No matter how many of them turn out to be ploys with no substance, they all bring some kind of damage, even if it’s not physical, but it takes different forms: constant fear, paranoia, a cluster of preoccupations that have been engraved into Kyungsoo’s life, something he has had to learn to live with.

The king goes to sleep that night, his subconscious providing images of Yixing as soon as he closes his eyes. It’s impossible, Kyungsoo tells himself none of this is possible. If Yixing had been planted in the palace to attack him, he would have already acted on it. There are memories of their fall in the pond, that stone that he had been holding so tightly, at the time Kyungsoo reasoned that it must have been because of the cold, but he wonders if he’s lost other moments similar to that, if he’s glossed over even worse things because of how enamoured with him he is.

 

♢

 

It’s quite early in the morning, when Kyungsoo decides to have his servants call Yixing and invite him to a private meeting. Kyungsoo thinks of walking to his room himself, but he is not sure he knows how to face him after the recent discoveries.

The king is sitting alone at the table standing in the middle of the small room where Yixing, Baekhyun and himself have spent together pleasant evenings, shared anecdotes from their lives and sweet, cups of alcohol. This time there’s no alcohol being poured and a heavily serious atmosphere, radiating from Kyungsoo’s tense expression.

When Yixing walks through the doors of the room, Kyungsoo stops picking at the scratches on the surface of the table and turns to look at him, Yixing still has strands of his hair standing up at the back of his head and his eyes are still glistening and swollen by slumber, but his smile is radiant.

“Good morning,” Yixing reaches his side quickly, after the servants leave them alone, he scoots even closer and his plump lips stretch implying something mischievous that Kyungsoo would have loved to reciprocate if it were any other morning. Kyungsoo smiles back at him, or at least tries, before giving up with a small sigh. “Something’s wrong?” Yixing does that cute tilt with his head that accompanies the major part of his questions.

Kyungsoo continues smiling, still unsure about what would be the best way to approach the subject “Baekhyun sent a letter,” he takes it out of his large sleeve and poses it on the table between them “It’s about your friend.” Yixing becomes visibly excited, Kyungsoo’s words make him vibrate on his seat, his happy expression emits a light so bright, that somehow still manages to surprise Kyungsoo and have his heart clench in his chest. Kyungsoo feels his stomach plummet, he grasps at words for entire minutes before starting to translate the most important passages written by Baekhyun.

He observes the progression of Yixing’s lovely smile falling, his complexion losing colour at the same rate with which Kyungsoo’s explanation developes. His eyes are still staring at Kyungsoo head on, but the glimmer of sleepiness in them has been driven away, his eyes are focused and awake, their alertness is only slightly diluted by the first hint of wetness gathering in them. Yixing’s reaction provokes deep confusion in Kyungsoo, his thoughts being torn between feeling relieved and gripping his hopes onto the, for as far as he can tell, sincere incredulity, while at the same time, he feels his chest heavy and tight, Yixing’s sadness is so easy to empathize with and Kyungsoo hates seeing him like this.

Yixing shakes his head, trying to shake with it the emotions that with no doubt must be washing over him with the strength of an ocean “This… It can’t be.” his expression continues to morph, his eyebrows arch high on his forehead, his lips remain open even after he is done talking, he covers his face with his own nervous hands before Kyungsoo can see his incredulity shift completely into desperation.

Kyungsoo is not thinking when his hands reach for Yixing. He touches his arms, his hands, tries to offer comfort. Despite how only moment ago he had doubted Yixing’s intentions to their very core, facing him has still the same effect on Kyungsoo, his entire body longs to hold onto him, bring peace to his mind "It happens often, but it's rare for the threats to be real." he explains, thinking that maybe, making him realize that it's not unusual for conspiracies to be false, will make it sound less disturbing to Yixing.

His words don’t seem to have the expected result, Yixing’s head raises quickly to look at him, the expression on his face is even worse now, carved out by dread, Kyungsoo is taken aback when Yixing moves out of his reach, he holds his gaze into his for a few more moments, as if frozen, until he looks down and away from any trajectory that might bring his eyes back on Kyungsoo.

The king tries to stop him when he excuses himself but he doesn’t succeed and he finds himself stuck attempting to do the same for the following days.

Yixing escapes right after his performances, runs away anytime his path meets Kyungsoo’s and even cuts short his exercises with Sehun when the king joins them in the library. He never looks at him, never offers him any explanation, nothing, not even excuses, only short polite bows and formal greetings that sound so out of place between them. Nonetheless, Kyungsoo never ceases to ask or push to have Yixing share with him more that just half-muttered words, even though all he receives are shifty, downcasted eyes and fidgeting hands, this new nervousness seems the worst version of the endearing habits Yixing had in the beginning of their friendship, now he is just plainly distressed, pale and uncomfortable. So suddenly, his lovely presence has shrinked to something so small, if Kyungsoo hadn’t been constantly paying attention to it, to the point of being obsessed by it, Yixing would have disappeared in the midst of his busy days.

He becomes so preoccupied with Yixing avoiding him that he has no time left to let himself go to the poisonous theories and the fear that his head had been filled by the letter. Any time they resurface he makes the conscious choice to repress them, lock them at the back of his mind where they can’t be seen or heard. He doesn’t care about them anymore, doesn’t want to explore them when Yixing seems so miserable. Kyungsoo decides to believe that he has no part in whatever his friend might be involved with, be damned the voice of suspicion telling him that Yixing’s guilty, sorry to have been found out.

He does realize that he is alone in his chase, though; that Yixing seems firm in his intention to continue to diverge further from him and that all Kyungsoo can do is retrace his own steps, hope that he’ll be able to break though Yixing’s shell again, he can’t believe he can. Kyungsoo stays awake throughout those nights, distraught, wrenched by the knowledge that he won’t be able to resolve this all on his own, that if Yixing is not willing to be with him anymore he might have to to let him go like this, without even a word. He can’t accept it. Not yet, not like this.  

 

♢

 

The situation stays exactly the same for the next days as well, Kyungsoo manages to pull a few more words than usual out of Yixing, but the awkwardness is stifling and the king has absolutely no idea of what else to do to ease it. He’s never had to do this, the normal state of things would be to have someone run after him, try to please him, to make him their friend; instead Yixing has been able to put him on the other side of the chase already for two times.

Six days after having received the letter, the first servant that greets Kyungsoo in the morning informs him that Baekhyun is on his way back, one of the guards, who had left with him, has already reached the palace to announce his imminent return.

Kyungsoo skips breakfast to make his preparations quicker, wanting to greet his cousin before anyone else. He is making his way down the stairs from the second floor when he hears shouting come from outside the palace, servants rush all around him, opening doors and leaving to complete the last preparations for Baekhyun’s arrival. Kyungsoo walks up to the door, there are only the guards and a couple of servants standing there with him, they bow to greet him and then go back to their strict positions. Seconds later, the first of the carriages comes in sight, the horses are carrying them effortlessly, speeding even over the slippery surface of the snow.

The coachman pulls them back and makes them slow down the pace when they are only mere steps away from the main entrance of the palace, Baekhyun jumps out of his coach as soon as they stop. Instead of walking towards the palace, he turns and nears the third, and last, carriage in the line. Kyungsoo squints his eyes, his eyesight has never been particularly sharp, and looks over his cousin as he opens the door of the carriage, a guard exits and after him a man he’s never seen before, but his height when he touches the ground and his gray clothes, in the same style as Yixing’s, are hints clear enough to make him realize his identity.

The two men begin to walk, followed closely by guards and piling behind the eight advisors. The old men reach Kyungsoo first, they all bow and apologize to him as they walk past him, they tell him that they never agreed to have the _conspirator_ travel to the palace, they shake their heads and trail inside the palace, without even waiting for Kyungsoo to say anything in return.

Baekhyun doesn't notice him until he’s already climbing the stairs to the main entrance “Ah! Look who’s welcoming us!” he shouts happily, in his usual careless way, as if he weren’t stepping in the palace with a handcuffed man.

“Kneel!” The two guards escorting the tall man push him down in front of Kyungsoo, the king sees him wince as his knees sink in the snow.

“Oh, come on there’s no need to be so violent,” Baekhyun goes down the stairs again, quickly reaching the man and getting his hands around one of his arms, doing his best to pull him up. The guards look over the scene awkwardly and then look at each other, Kyungsoo snorts as their faces break their stoic expressions to let honest confusion push through “Here, here.” Baekhyun takes it upon himself to guide Wu Yifan through the stairs, Kyungsoo stands still, continuing to observe the events develop without his intervention “I come bearing great presents, your Majesty.” Baekhyun bows and uses his hands to make Yifan do the same “Another actor!” he exclaims once he’s standing straight again.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to respond, so he keeps his mouth shut, the handcuffed man does the same and holds his head down, never daring to raise it.

“Where’s Yixing?” Baekhyun looks around, Kyungsoo turns his attention to him, he sees his eyes search Kyungsoo’s sides and behind him. Kyungsoo doesn’t respond directly, but he turns to one of the servants standing near him, asking them to go fetch the actor.

“We could have been welcomed by the sweetest man of Hunan instead we’re stuck staring at your sour face.” Baekhyun clicks his tongue, his voice isn’t as firm as before, Kyungsoo can tell he is trying to relieve the atmosphere, but for once, not even he is able to do much about it.

“I thought he had to be investigated,” Kyungsoo starts, his eyes travel back onto the tall man without him noticing “Why have you brought him here?”

“Those aren’t things to discuss here at the entrance, are they?” Baekhyun raises his eyebrows, already pushing the taller man to climb the last stairs, Kyungsoo turns and walks into the palace the two guards that had been standing beside them turn to walk directly behind him, putting themselves between Kyungsoo and the two other men.

The first thing Kyungsoo sees, as the large entrance is shut closed, is Yixing, out of breath and running towards him; he stumbles on his feet to bow to him and then quickly runs past him, Kyungsoo stops walking and follows his figure with his eyes until he is in front of his tall friend, he hears him call his name and sees him raise his arms to hug him, the guards stop him, one of them holds Yixing’s arms behind his back even as Baekhyun tells him to let go.

“Let mister Zhang greet the prisoner, but nothing more than that.” Kyungsoo orders, the guards are left confused once again, but they comply with the orders, even though they take the initiative to make sure Yixing has nothing on him that might be suspicious “Baekhyun, let’s go.” Kyungsoo starts walking again, his cousin squeezes through the guards and reaches his side, he spends the entire walk to his private room looking at Kyungsoo, but he never says anything.

Baekhyun pinches each digit of his black, leather gloves to slide them off his hands and put them on the table in front of them “How have you been?” he asks,

“Good. How was the travel?” he asks in return, sitting down as well.

“Everything went peachy… Well, almost everything, I guess… But coast cities are always nice.” Baekhyun sighs dreamily, dismissing the most important part of his sentence with a light-heartedness that bothers Kyungsoo.

“What about him?” he asks a bit more rashly, Baekhyun is still trying to be his usual self, but the circumstances call for some seriousness, at least until he’ll stop being vague and explain why there’s a alleged conspirator in the palace.

“There’s really nothing to worry about…” A servant enters the room, she has a tray with her, she settles it on the table and starts preparing the tea.

“What do you mean?” he continues questioning him as the tea is served

“I don't want to talk badly about people that aren't present to defend themselves… But those guards have no idea what they're doing.” Baekhyun takes a sip from his cup and point out of the window to his right, as if it could reach the town and the guards he’s left behind “And if you looked at all their documents you’d know, the reports were fine, but they’ve been trying to hide the interrogations for the entire time we were there.” Baekhyun has finally shed any pretense of nonchalance, his jaw sets tightly, completely serious and with that touch of anger that always fuels him when he has to speak about people he can’t stand.

“The most dangerous criminals they’ve had to handle until now have been thieves and, even with those standards, their success rate is honestly quite disappointing; they were parading Yifan around town like a trophy, for sure it got them back some of the people’s trust, but no one bothered to do their job and investigate his case seriously. They were just glad they had something that big in their cells, that’s why they didn’t even bother telling the palace, they wanted to keep him there and make themselves seem more useful than they actually are.” Kyungsoo lets him continue without speaking, if what Baekhyun says it’s true, the guards employed in that region will have to undergo a complete renovation

“And they’ve been absolutely incompetent in the way they handled an alleged conspirator. They kept him in a cell with other five men, Kyungsoo! I had to bring him here to do something useful.” Baekhyun is in utter disbelief just thinking about it “They kept saying how harmless he’s been this whole time, but if he actually were a conspirator, now he would have already organized himself with those men right under their noses. They’ve been thoughtless through the entire process and if those advisors were there alone, Yifan wouldn’t even be alive because of their delusions of grandeur.”

“Are we sure he hasn't?” Kyungsoo asks, tracing the rim of his full cup, “Organized himself, I mean.”

“Kyungsoo, believe me when I say you don’t have to suspect him.” Baekhyun is looking at him sincerely, his expression is sure and his eyes stare at him with no sign of faltering, Kyungsoo can feel himself draw in a long breath and finally release a full sigh dripping in pure relief "He's a good man, the guards just saw him as an easy prey, a foreigner with such a menacing face would have been a catch even without the alleged conspiracy."

“When I received the letter I had started suspecting everyone, even you.” Baekhyun clenches his chest in mock offense “But now I’m glad you’ve returned.” Kyungsoo admits, he doesn’t let himself go to this kind of mawkish confessions, but he genuinely is extremely happy to have him back in such a moment, just when the past months of his his life seemed to be about to crumble to his feet, Baekhyun has mended it back together, if Kyungsoo didn’t have him, his existence would have been a long, uninterrupted string of worries and suspects. Baekhyun travels have made him the perfect advisor, he has seen and experienced more than anyone living in the palace, his point of view always brings novelty and the slight detachment from the palace that he has fought so fiercely to keep makes him an objective eye. Out of all the doubts Kyungsoo’s subconscious has come up with in these past days, the ones that pained him the most have been those involving his cousin; having someone like him at court is what has kept Kyungsoo sane.

Although, Baekhyun isn’t the solution to each of Kyungsoo’s concerns; in fact, he can’t offer the comfort that Kyungsoo seeks in the privacy of his rooms and he would rather die than have him even try. If Kyungsoo could keep Yixing as well, he wouldn’t have to spend another dull day in his life. The king clears his throat, regretting of having brought up the idea.

“Why was he there then?” Kyungsoo asks, for the first time that morning he isn’t dreading to hear the answer

“He said he was visiting his sister, she and her husband were living in that town, I wasn’t able to meet them because they had already left the place, but I could read what the guards transcribed of their recounts. There wasn’t much, but there were just a few sentences that made the case a lot clearer for me.” Baekhyun gets out concisely,

“You think Yifan’s sister set him up?” Kyungsoo voices the most obvious of possibilities

“She did leave him alone in a foreign prison, didn’t she?” Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders, Kyungsoo hopes there “I can’t believe you were thinking Yifan was out here to kill you...Have you seen him? He's an actor, he is just like Yixing.” The comparison makes Baekhyun laugh “Take a moment to imagine Yixing in a jail, cramped in a cell with actual criminals…”

Kyungsoo can easily imagine him fighting back, his body might not be solid, but he is in shape and has a quick tongue; it makes him smile thinking that the straightforwardness he uses to flirt with him, would be implied in much less acceptable ways if he were in other circumstances. He bets that if Yixing wanted to he could be the type of person to bring men twice his size to tears just with words.

“How did it go while I was away? Is he able to look at you or are we still at square one?” Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows obnoxiously

“You were right… I was delighted by his company.” Kyungsoo quotes the words Baekhyun had used during the celebrations for his birthday 

“You make it sound like it’s hard to entertain you, anyone with a decent pair of legs is entertainment enough for you.” Baekhyun snickers, already raising one of his arms to protect himself from any possible attacks Kyungsoo might inflict on him as retaliation.

“I’m not going to disagree, but Yixing has been more than just that. He’s been a breath of fresh air, I…” Kyungsoo halts himself, not sure whether he really wants to put into words what he feels for him “I loved spending so much time with him and I wish it could last longer.” Kyungsoo’s smile is tight-lipped, admitting it doesn’t make him proud, especially after seeing the expression that Baekhyun puts on "I haven't been able to see him much these days, though..."

"Why you were scared he wanted to kill you as well?" Baekhyun snorts, like the idea would have been ridiculous, Kyungsoo doesn't comment on it, still reserving his right to be suspicious, even if he were to be honest, Yixing's reputation has never taken any hits in his mind; what he is actually scared of is the ease with which Yixing, all on his own, has charmed him in such a hopeless way.

"After I informed him of the letter, he's started avoiding me..." Kyungsoo's fingers tap on the table, chasing his thoughts "I've tried talking to him, but he wouldn't let me... He shouldn't feel responsible for any of this." Kyungsoo bites his lower lips judging whether he should continue "I am afraid he might want to leave if the situation doesn't improve." he does so anyways, regretting it slightly after Baekhyun clicks his tongue

“You know he isn’t staying anyways, right?” he asks, his expression falling a bit as well to match Kyungsoo’s. The king doesn’t answer, but the response has been only one since the beginning and now that Yifan is here, the time has started moving quicker.

 

♢

 

Kyungsoo has to sit through two entire hours of completely useless discussion about Wu Yifan.

The advisors are all in great agitation, they keep calling him a threat, a murderer and other epithets that have basically nothing in common with the man locked up in one of rooms of the palace, under the strict supervision of six guards. The oldest of the advisors, the old age making him look as fragile as glass, is the most fervent advocate against Wu Yifan's innocence; Kyungsoo hasn't seen him seem this alive in years.

“His friend too, your Majesty, that singer… It would be wiser to-” The king raises his left hand at that and clears his throat, halting the words from exiting that advisor's mouth and to gesture to one of his servants to put the fur back on his shoulders, all the advisors turn to look at him in silence, he can tell that they’re all dying to talk more, but he’s heard enough for today.

“The assembly is dismissed, I hope you will have more pressing matters to discuss tomorrow, advisors.” He stands up and the advisors bow down, they wait to hear the noise of the doors being slid open to bid him their greetings.

Their voices arrive muffled to Kyungsoo’s ears, though, because who he sees a few steps in front of him steals away the attention of all his senses; it’s so unexpected that the view alone is enough to make him pause, he feels himself being thrown off his balance, his knees almost on the verge of buckling.

“Your Majesty…” Yixing’s sweet voice and his brilliant, lovely eyes are finally directed at Kyungsoo once again. He feels a spark kindling beneath his skin, warmth spreading down to his deepest crevices; he’s ashamed of how something so simple can make him so happy.

“Yes, mister Zhang?” Kyungsoo looks away briefly, as he finally takes a couple of steps, letting the servants close the doors of the room behind him, but being mindful of not getting too close to Yixing. The actor’s hands are hanging stiffly on his sides, his fingers playing with the slits on the sides of the deep blue changshan he is wearing.

“I would like to ask for some of your time...” he says, his confidence shakes slightly along with his voice. The request takes Kyungsoo by surprise, but he agrees easily. He nods curtly and starts walking immediately, while mulling seriously about what room he would like to have as setting for their first moments of privacy after almost two whole weeks. Yixing doesn’t let himself be overwhelmed by his enthusiasm, though; instead of going along with Kyungsoo’s pace he keeps his feet firm on the ground and extends his hand to hold onto Kyungsoo’s sleeve, he pulls it strongly, making the king take a step back and face him.

Kyungsoo looks at him confused, the same emotion continues to grow steadily as Yixing doesn’t do anything to explain himself, all he does is dart his eyes around nervously and tug on the king’s clothes.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo is forced to ask, 

“This way, please.” Yixing points to the aisle behind himself, at the end of it there are the large doors signalling the entrance to the palace library.

Kyungsoo doesn't know how to feel about it, for all he knows, there are many possible ways in which this meeting could go, he isn’t sure he is ready to tarnish his most sacred room in the palace with bad memories. Despite his worries, he agrees. However this encounter will end, Kyungsoo knows painfully well that once the shock will wear off, each and every memory he has created with Yixing will be immensely valuable; no matter how bitter or how sweet, he will keep them all jealously.

“Alone…” Yixing's voice trails off, the last vowels he emits tilt in a questioning tone, sign of his self-assurance starting to waver.

Kyungsoo takes another moment to look at him, questioning him silently; he raises his hand and waves it to dismiss his entourage and then follows Yixing as he begins to walk towards their destination. The actor doesn't turn or say anything else for the rest of their walk, he only glances shortly at Kyungsoo when he halts to open the door.

They trail inside silently, Kyungsoo still feels tenseness pulling at the air between them, but he thinks there's improvement, with no doubt the room is a big part of the positive influence he is beginning to feel, but the major reason must be the fact that his own personal state of mind has already been renewed and encouraged by the talk he’s had with his cousin. The side of his own torturous thoughts has been resolved, meanwhile Yixing still seems to be wallowing in his own uncertainties.

“I'm sorry to have called you so suddenly, your Majesty.” Yixing finally starts, they're both still standing and none of them seems to have any intention to sit down comfortably, Kyungsoo roams in the room, searching for a place to set himself, he nears one of the shelves loaded with books and decides to lean against it "I've talked with Baekhyun and he advised me to talk to you as soon as possible... And apologize for fending you off, I hope the offense won't be too great to be forgiven." Hearing Yixing talk so formally is too strange for Kyungsoo, he needs to look away from him, he starts pacing in the room once more, this time in an attempt to loosen his nervousness 

“I have nothing else planned to do until the afternoon, don’t worry... And there's no need to apologize.” Kyungsoo says quickly, eager to hear what Yixing has to tell him.

“Oh, I won’t keep you that long.” He laughs, the sound is a bit strained, nothing like the hearty, goofy laughter he displays when he is genuinely amused.

“Is that something you needed to discuss with me, mister Zhang?” Kyungsoo turns on his feet, moving towards Yixing, who had still been standing stiffly in the middle of the room. Yixing raises his head and Kyungsoo does the same, he sees Yixing's eyes travel over the length of his body, faltering only when their climb comes closer to the king’s face; Kyungsoo can’t tell whether the actor’s gaze ever made it to meet his own, because he is the first to look away when Yixing takes a deep breath and cuts the distance between them, rushing to reach Kyungsoo.

His hands pose on Kyungsoo’s heavily clothed arms, grasping at the fabric, the king’s eyes move to look at them as soon as he feels them tighten the grip, holding fistfuls of the precious fabric covering him. He hears Yixing breathe out and feels his head bump into his, their foreheads touching. The touch has Kyungsoo closing his eyes, urging his skin to feel everything, forge it in his memory in the most accurate way it can, his hands grasp Yixing too, returning the hold with the same intensity as the actor’s.

“I don’t know how I am supposed to face you,” Yixing lets out quickly, his body pushing forward, pushing closer

“Why?” Kyungsoo asks, Yixing is shifting restlessly, struggling to find again the perfect position to let himself adhere to the king’s slightly smaller frame.

“A-After all of this, I just... I-” His voice is shaking, Kyungsoo lets go of the hold on his wrists and raises his hands to settle them on Yixing’s back, one of them finds easily the expanse of his nape, he guides it gently so that his face can burrow in the hollow of his neck; his body moving on its own accord, feeling the physical need to soothe Yixing out of the thoughts holding him in this condition "It all became too much for me to handle. I don't know what to do, I am so sorry."

"Yixing?" Kyungsoo draws back, wanting to look directly at the other, he still keeps his hands on him, light and, hopefully, reassuring. "You didn't know." he says, convinced about it now more than ever.

"I didn't, I swear on everything I hold dear, I didn't know." Yixing shakes his head vehemently, Kyungsoo caresses him through it, his thumbs stumbling onto the first traces of tears rolling down his face. More wetness raises to Yixing's beautiful irises, but his features aren't marked by sadness, his teeth are gritted and his forehead creased by lines left there by deep frustration, the same sentiment that is making the grip of his hands grow tighter as time goes by.

"You don't have to feel guilty, Yixing." he almost tells him that there's no need to cry over it, but with his tears, he is letting out everything that has been bottled up inside him until now. Even if Kyungsoo decides not to comment about them, he continues to chase their feeble paths, the tips of his fingers leaving soft caresses over Yixing's skin to catch all of his tears before they can slide too far and end to the ground or sink into the fabric of his clothes, he dries them off and wipes off their tracks, not allowing them to leave any trace on the loveliest person in his palace. "If it weren't for you, no one would have investigated. If you hadn't told us about your friend, he would still be paying for someone else's crime-"

"Yes," Yixing interrupts him, "But out of everything he could have done, how could he end up involved into this... Thinking about you being harmed makes my skin crawl." His eyes are looking at Kyungsoo with an edge of desperation that feels reeling, Kyungsoo doesn't know what to say, his hands move minutely to hold Yixing's jaw "And you were talking so lightly about it,” Kyungsoo thinks back at his clumsy attempt to calm Yixing, just now realizing how they’ve managed to worsen the situation “Hearing you say those things… What if Yifan were a real conspirator? What if I were? What if I had put you in danger without even knowing? We have self-preservation instincts for a reason, you should listen to them."

"I would have listened to them if you weren't the one trying so hard to avoid me.” Kyungsoo almost laughs, but Yixing is still panicking “Do you remember when you tried to push me in the pond? Yixing, you can’t imagine how much time I’ve spent thinking about the countless opportunities you had that day to crush my head on a rock… And yet you didn't.”

“That’s…” Yixing’s voice breaks in a first, small sob, he struggles against Kyungsoo’s hold, trying to fit himself back against his form “Even if I were a conspirator I could have never done it…” Yixing raises his arms, holds Kyungsoo’s head tightly, his fingers mess with his orderly topknot, Kyungsoo feels his heart beat in his throat, the atmosphere is tense once again, but only because Yixing is purposely holding his breath and pulling Kyungsoo close to him, not leaving any space between them “Kyungsoo, I already love you so dearly, I could never do anything to harm you.”

Kyungsoo’s hands splay on Yixing’s back, he holds him close, tightly. His head, his chest all of his body pulses with following the quickened rhythm of his heartbeat, Yixing kisses him and he gives him back everything he has to offer, his lips, his thoughts, his body and a low whisper of “ _Me too, I love you too_ ” that no one but them will ever have to hear.

 

♢

 

“Finally, royal soju and nice company, everything a man can desire!” Baekhyun sits back, taking his usual spot around their table in the small room.

Kyungsoo is holding Yixing’s hand beneath the wooden furniture, his thumb stroking the slim length of the actor’s index finger; even from above the table, Kyungsoo can’t take his eyes off him, it’s already been two days since Yixing has shared with him the confession that he will never be able to forget, but Kyungsoo is still unable to grasp it completely. Being in love has never been one of the privileges of a king and yet, he’s somehow been blessed enough to experience it in this lifetime and with such a lovely companion.

That chaotic mass of feelings that he has left unspoken for so long have unfurled, become as clear as day, as clear as Yixing’s eyes tonight. Kyungsoo hadn’t realized how much he has missed not spending all of his evenings with him until now, he is going to have to ask for retribution from Yixing, for having deprived him of such a sweet honour.

“Hey, I’m still here.” Baekhyun is lying on his side on the ground, he’s moved to the floor in front of him his cup and the entire bottle of soju “I thought I was going to enjoy myself tonight, instead I’m stuck looking at whatever the two of you are doing and drinking mediocre alcohol. Don’t tell me you’ve bought Kim Minseok’s soju without asking me first, I’ve told you he doesn’t know what he is doing, you should have let me direct the meeting…”

Kyungsoo is forced to move his eyes on Baekhyun, it seems like it’s one of those evenings in which the attention needs to be on him constantly. It makes Kyungsoo smile knowingly feeling Yixing’s fingers grasp his hand as he turns away from him. “You talk like you’re an expert, but the entire palace knows that you get drunk after one single cup of any soju they serve you… And we both know, General Kim is keeping you under surveillance after those comments you made about his wife’s _derrière_.” Kyungsoo repeats the only French word that Baekhyun has learned from the two months he’s spent in Europe and that he’s made sure to teach everyone he knows; the fact that even Yixing bursts out laughing from his side, is proof enough.

“My tolerance doesn’t have anything to do with my knowledge of brewing techniques, Kyungsoo… And the comments were about the general’s _derrière_ not about his wife’s.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as Baekhyun lays on his back and starts laughing holding up with the cute staccato that scans Yixing’s laughter.

“I wish Yifan could be here too, he would be dying of laughter,” Yixing says smiling, him and Baekhyun have visited their _guest_ together multiple times a day, since he’s been transferred to the cells. Yixing has been trying to get Kyungsoo to go too, but the king knows what kind of disarray he would create in the palace if he were to visit an alleged criminal and he is not looking forward to be the direct cause of of his advisors’ heart failures.

“He will be, soon.” Baekhyun picks himself up from the floor, his arm buckles under his weight, his limbs already weakened by tiredness, but he doesn’t laugh about it, keeping his face straight, "Even though maybe you shouldn't let him see you so attached to Kyungsoo, elder brothers can't be scary even if they're not tied to you by blood..." Baekhyun points at Yixing's arms sneaking around Kyungsoo,

"He will have to live with it..." Yixing burrows in Kyungsoo's neck, his laughter comes out muffled.

“Has there been any progress?” Kyungsoo asks interrupting the idle chatting, Yixing continues to search his closeness, he hears him scoot closer and then feels his chin dig on his shoulder.

“Finally we’ve been able to take Yifan’s full confession, it’s incredible how little time it takes when you let capable people do their job,” Baekhyun fills his cup and sits up, moving closer to the table “His sister had prepared him a bed in her husband’s cabin, because the house was too small to fit him too. He confirmed what the incompetents have reported, that it was filled with books, pamphlets and maps… But Yifan can’t even read hangul. There’s nothing against him, but we can’t let him go if we don’t find his sister.”

“He said that her husband’s family is living in Seoul.” Yixing speaks up too, Kyungsoo had no doubts that Baekhyun had let him attend Yifan’s interrogation, Baekhyun hums to agree as he downs another cup,

“The military is already looking for her.” he informs Kyungsoo,

“Ah, ever since Qian got married, Yifan has been saying how much he didn’t like her husband…” Yixing gets on his knees and raises his index finger to wave it around seriously and accompany his slurred words “And all we’ve done is make fun of him for being too attached to his sister.” he deflates in a flash after that, when he lets himself go to sit back on the ground, he moves so close to Kyungsoo that half of his behind lands on his lap. Seeing him so uncoordinated is rare and that makes it even funnier,

“I didn’t even realize that he’d been drinking…” Kyungsoo laughs and Baekhyun does too, but it comes out too loudly, the alcohol finally getting to is head too. Kyungsoo looks at his two companions in disbelief, the transition from absolute seriousness to loose limbed and drunken giggling has been as fast as a bat of eyelashes “Time for bed, I guess.” he says to himself, whilst hauling himself up and pulling one of Yixing’s arms around his neck to help him get to his feet as well.

On the way to the door he kicks Baekhyun and tells him to get to his room, but then he asks the first servant he meets to go retrieve him.

The way to Yixing’s room is spent with Yixing giggling for no reason at all, pushing all of his weight on Kyungsoo and one of his sneaky hands trying to get under his clothes. Only when

his door comes in sight he pulls himself together and tugs Kyungsoo with himself, guiding them both inside his room quickly and with a sense of urgency that Kyungsoo wouldn’t have expected by a sweet, drunken Yixing.

Yixing pushes him against one of the walls of his room, on his face there’s no dazed eyes, no shallow, distracted smile, but there’s alertness and purpose. The shift would have scared Kyungsoo if Yixing had lost more time observing him instead of kissing him as passionately as he is.

“So you _weren’t_ drinking.” Kyungsoo laughs when Yixing detaches from his lips for air,

“I haven’t even had a drop,” Yixing smiles, his arms pose on Kyungsoo’s shoulders, caging him against the wall “I couldn’t wait anymore to have you, though.” Kyungsoo responds eagerly when he kisses him again, his hand come up to rest on Yixing’s waist. The actor grasps his right one and guides it to touch the inside of his thigh “I still have your marks.” he whispers before biting his ear softly; Kyungsoo inhales loudly and digs his fingers on Yixing’s skin from above his clothes, Yixing throws his head back and moans loudly, his chest pushing against Kyungsoo as his body bends. Kyungsoo gets himself off the wall and pushes him to the right side of the room, where the servants have already prepared Yixing’s bed, ready to fuck him so good he will think he’s been feasting on the Jade Emperor’s peach banquets.

 

♢

 

It takes exactly four days to find Yifan’s sister and only one minute to fire the entire corp of guards serving in the town where the actor was arrested.

As everyone had been suspecting, the person sharing materials instigating conspiracies against the royal family was Yifan’s brother in law, who isn’t a fisherman, but a rich merchant preaching for the end of monarchy while wearing golden rings on each of his fingers and dressing his wife in the most expensive of fabrics.

“Quite a let down, uh?” Baekhyun elbows Kyungsoo’s side, both of them standing in front of the largest window in the king’s room, looking at the carriage coming towards the palace, transporting Wu Yifan and his sister “I’m always away from the country when people try to get in the palace to kill you, I thought I could witness it this time.”

Kyungsoo glares at him, but softens almost immediately “Because when you’re not here, I have no one to watch my back.” Kyungsoo has been feeling a lot more inclined to let himself go to share a sappy sentence once in a while, the light, sweet feelings he experiences each day are starting to rub off him.

Baekhyun turns to look at him, he sees him grimace for a grand total of two seconds before breaking in one of his big smiles and extending his arms to hug him “You’re such a softie.” Kyungsoo lets him pull him against his chest and instead of shoving him away he reciprocates, patting his back with quiet gratefulness; the life in the palace would be so dull without him.

Speaking of how much duller his life in the palace could be, Kyungsoo catches sight of Yixing from the window, rushing over the melting snow to get to the carriage, followed closely by his musicians. He sees him hold the hands of the taller actor and his sister’s and after a few moments, he pulls both of them in a hug, he hopes it’s as comforting as the one Baekhyun is still holding him in. At the back of his mind, there’s a small realization starting to grow, just a sensation that he is not able to describe.

Baekhyun decides that the arrival of Yixing’s friend at the palace, finally freed of his handcuffs, calls for a celebration. He pushes Kyungsoo out of his room and tells him to dispose the instructions to the kitchen, whilst he takes care of the invites, none of the people invited will know what they’re celebrating, but no one ever turns down an invitation from the royal palace.They will be even more excited to know that Yixing has already offered himself and Yifan to provide entertainment.

 

♢

 

Kyungsoo’s back hits the wall near the only window in Yixing’s room, he had been staring at the scenery outside. The sky covered by heavy, dark gray clouds and the rain trickling from them; it’s only a few drops right now, but the clouds’ appearance threatens a change for the worse.

He exchanges the view of the moody weather with Yixing. He settles his gaze on his quiet form sitting down with his mirror in one of his hands and a brush in the other, raptured in deep concentration as he draws long, perfect lines on his eyelid “I thought you were here to help me, but all you’ve done is look out of the window and stare at me.” He says after he’s done with one eye, he dips his finger in a brown powder and rubs it along his lash line, skillfully lessening the starkness of the dark pigment.

“I wouldn’t want it to end up like the last time I’ve helped you with your makeup…” Kyungsoo’s voice dips lower, displaying the implications of his words. Yixing looks at him for a moment and then goes back to his work, a small smile plays on his lips. Kyungsoo sighs, feeling impatient to see Yixing perform again and also curious to see him on the stage with another actor; he moves from his spot against the wall and nears the table, he sits beside Yixing, while continuing to observe the light, artful strokes of his brushes.

Yixing holds the thin brush on his left eye, preparing to draw a line as close as possible to a perfect reflection of the one he’s just done on the right. He raises and lowers the instrument multiple times, trying to determine from what angle he should begin, he puts everything down after the umpteenth attempt and turns to look at Kyungsoo with his eyes wide and his eyebrows, made completely vanish by the paint, arched up his forehead.

“You’re distracting me.” he complains, grabbing a fistful of Kyungsoo’s clothes, but not taking any initiative to push him away or pull him closer.

“Sorry.” Kyungsoo smiles apologetically, biting down on his lip to keep himself under check. He puts his hands on the ground, ready to turn away, but Yixing keeps him still on his spot and moves slowly to climb on his lap, he is smiling when he lowers his head to kiss him, even with his lips completely covered by the pale paint. He scrubs the paint transferred to Kyungsoo’s lips with his hand “Maybe you can get ready later, there’s plenty of time.” Kyungsoo proposes.

Yixing smiles, Kyungsoo notices something strange, “I will be all yours tonight, but work is work.” he says, already climbing off Kyungsoo, the king misses his familiar weight on him. Instead of moving away and letting Yixing continue his work peacefully, Kyungsoo scoots closer to him, his long fingers begin to play with the soft linen of the white undergarments of his costume; he lets his eyes trail off though, travel over the costumes still displayed in the room and the accessories Yixing has prepared on the table. Kyungsoo recognizes among them the hairpins and the headpiece of his first performance at the palace.

Images from that day rush back to him, the sensations of experiencing such beauty for the first time are still perfectly vivid in his mind; how could he forget them when he experiences the same set of emotions every time he sees Yixing.

“Xing-ah, this brush isn’t-” The doors to Yixing’s room are parted suddenly, the man that enters does so with an impetus that makes Yixing jump on his seat. On the other hand, Kyungsoo turns his head lazily, not happy to have his time with Yixing interrupted; he is quick to pull himself together when he sees who’s the man,

“I believe we haven’t met yet,” Kyungsoo smiles at Yifan, as he stands up, the man towers over him, at least a whole head taller than him,

“Your Majesty, I am honoured to meet you and finally have the chance to thank you for the kindness you have shown me.” Yifan bows down deeply after speaking, his voice is deep and a tad less enthusiastic than what Kyungsoo is used too, but he sounds profoundly sincere nonetheless. Kyungsoo sees his knees starting to bend and he immediately pats his shoulder, coaxing him into standing back up straight.

“There’s no need to thank me so profusely now, the best way to show me your gratefulness is to put on a great performance.” Kyungsoo smiles, through the black and white mask Yixing has painted on his face, he can’t tell what expression he is making, but he is quick to bow down politely once more

“We certainly will, Yixing and I are the best Consort Yu and King Xiang Yu of Hunan, you certainly won’t be disappointed!” Yixing walks up to Kyungsoo’s side, his arms crossed over his chest

“Are you sure you want to boast so much after all the months you’ve spent without performing?” he says, he has eyebrows drawn on now and Kyungsoo’s favorite red lips on,

“I’ve been dying to come back, though, I remember every step and every word…” Kyungsoo observes them silently, they continue to speak and jab playfully at each other, in a way that leaves Kyungsoo aside, unable to intervene in any way. He sees Yixing lick his thumb and erase one of the slanted, black lines drawn on Yifan’s face. It’s as if all of what Kyungsoo had been ignoring until now has suddenly rushed to him, requesting his attention: Yixing has a life out of this palace, he’s heard him talk about it, tell him about the people he considers his family and the places where he grew up, the food he ate; but Kyungsoo has never actually understood what it meant, Yixing has existed before arriving to the palace in a way that Kyungsoo will never experience and will continue to do the same once he leaves, he has left such an enormous trace on Kyungsoo’s monotone life, and all he can do is hope that he might have left at least a small impression of himself in his.

“I’ll leave you to your preparations.” Kyungsoo excuses himself from the room, the two actors bow to him and Yixing smiles, sweet and beautiful, the sight consoles him.

The feast is served as soon as the sun starts to set, even though the dark, looming clouds and heavy streams of water they are unleashing doesn’t let them see any of the oranges and pinks that would normally tint the sky at this time of the evening.

Yixing and Yifan cross the room shortly after and their presence is riveting, Kyungsoo has never seen anyone other than Yixing perform this art, but judging by the smoothness of their movements and the clear sounds of their voices, both of them live up to the high expectations that Yifan seemed to have for the night. They both manage to sell their illusion with no issue, even if the taller actor’s costume is an old, faded, dark hanbok that Baekhyun found in one of the wardrobes of the palace and his sword is a wooden one, from the set that Sehun uses for his training, none of the guards had the guts to lend their weapons to a man that has been out of prison only for a couple of days.

Even Yixing seems different, he has seen him perform this particular piece so many times already, but today, his talent shines even more brilliantly than it did before. Kyungsoo, instead of seeing Yixing play a character, sees only the beautiful, devoted Consort Yu kneeling to her king, singing of her undying love for him, fighting against his will to follow him even in death.

When Yifan turns his back to him, there’s genuine longing in his eyes, a sadness that pulls painfully at the strings of Kyungsoo’s heart. This time the cause of it is not having to see such a sorrowful emotion etched on Yixing’s features, but feeling the story pull him in, empathize with a woman so loyal, ready to share the same grim fate of his beloved under every circumstance, to any extent.

The moment Yixing extends his arm to pull the sword out of the king’s sheath, Kyungsoo sees the gems sewn on his sleeve reflect brightly the light and feels a deep pang in his stomach, an achingly bitterness spread from the back of his tongue; and when he mimics the action of cutting his neck, all behind the taller actor’s back, Kyungsoo thinks that he would do the same. He downs a cup of soju, puts himself in the concubine’s tasseled shoes and confines his rationality to the back of his mind; Yixing is his king and if he had no way to save him, he would follow him to his demise.

If he hadn’t been sure about being drunk before, Kyungsoo becomes sure of it, when Baekhyun whispers in his ear to leave his table and follow him. Getting to his feet seems a feat that he won’t be able to win alone, so he accepts Baekhyun’s hand without complaining when he offer it to him, even if he is looking down at him and laughing boisterously at his failures.

They walk to their usual room undisturbed, the rest of their guests are all too distracted to realize that the king has left.

Behind the doors, Kyungsoo had been expecting to find an empty room, instead there are Yixing and Yifan with a pair of chopsticks each, eating what they couldn’t taste while they were performing.

Kyungsoo inebriation makes him shameless, beelining directly towards Yixing, to sit himself beside him, his hands easily find their favourite spot on the light curves of his thin waist “You were amazing today.” He whispers in his ear and smiles satisfied when he sees the skin of Yixing’s arm, not covered by his linen undergarment, raise in chills.

“Thank you.” Yixing’s face is still painted, Kyungsoo thinks he looks radiant tonight, he is so beautiful, he feels as if his heart could beat directly out of his chest and offer itself directly to Yixing’s care. Yixing smiles and poses his head against Kyungsoo.

“What’s happening here?” Yifan looks menacing, not because of his demeanor, but mostly because of the intricate pattern drawn over his face with black and white, making him look perpetually, fiercely angered “Is this the reason he listened to you? You’ve been bedding the king, Yixing?”

“Yifan, what are you talking about? You’re drunk...” Yixing pulls away from Kyungsoo, turning to shout directly at Yifan “How can you talk like this to the man that got you out of prison?”

“I thought you’ve been performing for him, if this is how you pulled me out of jail I would have preferred staying-” Yifan is clearly becoming heated, Kyungsoo feels the first signs of his system sobering up, the pounding headache and the sudden wish of not having to deal with people.

“Oh, Goodness, it looks like Yifan’s obsession with his sister extends to our Yixing too,” Baekhyun interrupts him

“I was right about my sister, wasn’t I?” Yifan continues to press, 

“You should really be careful about what you say about Kyungsoo, Yifan, it’s only your second day out of prison…”  Baekhyun reminds him of his circumstances and he seems to calm down, letting only one last, sentence escape his mouth

“At least now, I can be glad that we’re leaving tomorrow,” he says almost viciously, although his tone is the last thing that interests Kyungsoo.

The king poses his eyes back on Yixing, he holds his shoulder trying to make him turn so that they can look at each other, once he succeeds, he asks “You’re leaving?” his voice cracks, still barely hanging onto the hope of having heard wrongly.

Yixing nods and Kyungsoo feels the world crumble to his feet, he is sure the alcohols still rushing through him is what’s making him feel his emotions so dramatically, but the rage with which they wash over him, don’t let him enough space to reason. He pulls himself on his feet, the room suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

“Kyungsoo!” Yixing’s voice calls for him. Kyungsoo hears another set of steps echo his own as he makes his way out of the room

“Kyungsoo, please, wait!” Yixing calls once more when they reach an empty hallway, right in front of the door of their walks, Kyungsoo can't bring himself to look at it, "Yifan is drunk, he didn't mean anything of what he's said, he's always been rowdy after a few drinks." Yixing walks until he is standing beside him, his hand touches his arm gently, Kyungsoo turns to face him, his hands move to grasp Yixing's.

"You're leaving, already?" he is embarrassed by the voice that leaves his lips, it sounds to him as if it were someone else's

Yixing tilts his head, smiles unsure "I had to leave sooner or later..."

"Where you planning on telling me?" Kyungsoo asks, his hands move back on Yixing's waist

"I was still deciding," Yixing sounds choked up too now and his palms lay themselves over the king's chest, Kyungsoo feels the area constrict, thinking back at all the times Yixing has done it before "I didn't know how, I still don't know..." It wouldn't have been the first time Yixing avoids talking to him instead of facing the matter head on. Yixing's confidence seems to fail him always when Kyungsoo needs it the most.

Kyungsoo has no idea what to say, they both stay planted on their spots silently, until the king takes the first step and pulls Yixing against himself, he kisses him pouring into the exchange all the frustration, the sadness that's taking over him so violently. He doesn't want to talk now, he doesn't need to, he wants to feel Yixing commit him fully to his memory; but the actor is pulling back before he can even start.

"I have prepared something for you... For tonight, you can go wait in my room I'll be quick." Yixing strokes Kyungsoo's cheeks softly before taking a first step away from him, Kyungsoo reaches out, grabbing his hand to stop him

"Come to my room tonight." Yixing nods and moves away, Kyungsoo stares at his back moving further away from him, until he takes a turn and disappears.

He makes his way to his rooms solemnly, holding his gaze down throughout the entire walk. He can hear the loud voices of the celebrations still raising from somewhere inside the palace, their joy feels like mockery.

Kyungsoo doesn't know how much time he's spent alone in his room before Yixing finally walks in. His face is clean and he is wearing his normal clothes again, he looks like his Yixing, the Yixing from the dreamy days he's spent laughing with him, the times he has slowly felt himself begin to long for him. The mischievous nine tailed fox, the perfect hero from his novels, the sweet combination of everything that makes Yixing so uniquely himself, everything that he'll miss about him.

He is holding a small instrument in his hands, he plucks the strings nervously as he makes his way towards him; he sits down without a word, but he smiles, beautiful. Kyungsoo sees his lips, still slightly stained by the red pigments of his paint, stretch awkwardly as he positions himself.

He plays a first note and clears his voice, Kyungsoo is taken in immediately, observing his slim fingers go through a set of actions the he's never seen them perform until now. Yixing seems sure and precise with the way he handles his instrument, but during the short pause between a note and the other, he sees his hands tremble and in turn his start trembling again.

Yixing starts singing after a short sequence of low, slow notes, the voice he uses is not the one Kyungsoo has heard him use during his plays, it doesn't have that same, splendid brightness; this one is less boisterous, as he sings, there's no pretense of theatricality, it's stipped down to a calmer register that makes his naturally light voice sound gentle and kind. Kyungsoo feels soothed and more in love than ever.

The words of his song start dripping into Kyungsoo's ears in small sentences, it takes him a few more moments than usual to adapt his knowledge to the almost slurred way with which Yixing is pronouncing the syllables.

He asks him to think of him, when the snow will be gone and when it'll start falling again. He wants him to know that even if he'll forget, Yixing won't, that time might be cunning and vicious, but he'll still be thinking of the months they've spent together until he'll be able to. 

Kyungsoo's nose schrunches, his eyes start burning, he listens intently and slowly moves closer to Yixing, he poses a hand on his thigh and then one on his hand when he misses the first note and tears begin to come down his face.

"Stay, Yixing, please." It's embarrassing, but he still says it, he's never wanted to tie Yixing down, his disinterest for the court has been one of the first things he's admired of him, along side his immense talent and his sincerity. Although, now that he is faced with the fact that Yixing won't be here tomorrow, suspended into the bubble where Kyungsoo will be forced to live for the rest of his life, he feels miserable

"This life... It's not for me." Yixing responds, barely managing to keep his tears at bay, "There's people waiting for me at home, the theatre, my family." he shuts his eyes, his forehead bumps into Kyungsoo's,

"What am I, then?" Kyungsoo's voice sounds even more desperate, he holds him close, feels the familiar patterns if his clothes brush against his palms,

"If our circumstances were different, you would be my everything." Yixing looks into his eyes seriously and then kisses him again, until they both forget everything else, filling each other's mind up to the brim. Kyungsoo feels himself drown between the saddened tone of his thoughts and Yixing's lips, his hands as he pushes him to lay against his bed and pry away his clothes.

Their bodies find their rhythm easily, both of them fuelled by the need to feel their lives go back to a sembrance of normality. Their robes slide off their shoulders smoothly, their hands search and pull tightly, eager to feel everything for one last time. They have the king's plush bed beneath them, expensive oils and Kyungsoo tells himself that they also have all the time in the world as Yixing splays himself on his sheets, grasping his hands and begging him to make love to him. Kyungsoo's fingers trace attentively every line of his form, his firm skin quivers under his light caress and Yixing's gorgeous lips tremble, parted and wet; his voice breaks in moans and pleads, noise to fill the heavy silence that stretches between them. 

Kyungsoo kisses Yixing's dimples and leaves marks on his neck, on the hollows of his collarbones, between his thighs and down his adbomen; leaving traces of himself wherever he can reach, he wants Yixing to be able to see them after weeks, after months, and still be able to remember them clearly after years.

They hold each other close for the rest of the night, whispering hushed confessions that Kyungsoo believes he should keep for himself, trying to contain the damage they'll provoke when he'll remember how it felt to say them, but won't have anyone to dedicate them to. Yixing holds tight fistfuls of his untied hair; both of them still hanging onto each other tightly, despite seeing the first rays of dawn illuminate the room.

 

♢

 

Kyungsoo is shaken awake, the servant that greets him tries to avoid looking at the red bruises left all over his chest. He scans the room quickly, the servants are working like they do every morning, silently and efficiently.

As he tries to pull himself up, his hand plants on something hard, he turns to look and finds a small, black pot, inside it there's the bright red pigment that had fascinated him so easily, but so deeply; with it there's a small note, written in Mandarin.

_There will always be a seat ready for you at the theatre._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried lol  
> thank you for reading!


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